#Maine - #Agricultural #ConservationEasements
"The primary purpose of an Agricultural Conservation Easement is to protect the agricultural soils, agricultural viability, and agricultural productivity of a property in perpetuity by limiting non-agricultural uses of the property.
What is it?
"It is a voluntary, legally recorded permanent deed restriction place on the property. The easement or 'development right' may be donated or sold (or a combination of the two) usually to a land trust which then holds (and manages) the easement. Land protected from development with an easement remains in private ownership.
Agricultural easements help farmers balance goals of:
- generating revenue for farming or retirement;
- making their land more affordable to future farmers;
- keeping their farmland in farming;
- maintaining a treasured legacy of #SustainableFarm #stewardship.
"Agricultural conservation easements are private transactions, entered into for perpetuity, and thus harder to undo compared to other land protection land use strategies.
"The process can take some time to negotiate and carry out. The cost of buying easements on a significant scale can be prohibitive. It is also important that the 'holder' of the easements has the capacity to ensure that the agricultural land is managed as intended.
"You can contact your local #LandTrust or the statewide #MaineFarmlandTrust when considering easements as a farm viability and farmland protection tool."
Read more (via #GrowSmartMaine):
https://growsmartmaine.org/agricultural-conservation-easements/
Learn more about Maine Farmland Trust:
https://www.mainefarmlandtrust.org/farmland/protect-farmland
#FarmsForMainesFuture #SaveTheFarms #Sprawl #LandPreservation #SolarPunkSunday #Farmland #FoodSecurity #MaineFarms #GrowLocal #EatLocal