conservation-easements

Conservation Easements

Mitchell Chadwick attorneys in the past two years successfully lead the effort to complete the largest prime agricultural land conservation easement in California history covering about 12,000 acres in Fresno County.  They have also worked on numerous other conservation easements throughout the state ranging in size from 5 acres to several thousand acres.

The reason for the easements can be varied including mitigation requirements for proposed development projects to tax deductible charitable contributions unrelated to any development project, to family ranchers wanting to prevent the land from being developed, for ranchers or farmers to sell an easement on their property to raise revenue, while at the same time continuing to assure that they can continue to farm or ranch their property.

Conservation easements are also triggered in the mitigation bank context.  We have worked on easements covering land for agricultural, open space, wildlife habitat and wetland issues.