But a time comes when you have to face some hard questions:

    • What will happen to my land in the future?
    • Can my children afford to keep it?
    • Will future owners care about it the way I do?

The Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation can help you protect your land, and some options even provide financial benefits. Here are the most common conservation options.

Conservation Easement

This is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust (which we are) that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. It allows you to continue to own and use your land and to sell it or pass it on to heirs.

When you donate a conservation easement to a land trust, you permanently give up some of the rights associated with the land. For example, you might give up the right to build additional residences, while retaining the right to grow crops. Future owners also will be bound by the easement’s terms, and the land trust is responsible for making sure the easement’s terms are followed.

Conservation easements:

    • Are flexible land protection tools that are tailored to your individual situation.
    • Leave land in private ownership.
    • Can result in an income tax deduction and reduced property and estate taxes.

Contact the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation office for more information about conservation easements.

Dick and Micky Woodruff donated a conservation easement on their 265-acre farm to the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation so that they could forever ensure that it remains the special place that it is.

Land Donation

Donating land for conservation purposes is truly one of the finest legacies a person can leave to future generations. It may be the best conservation strategy for you if you do not wish to pass the land on to heirs; own property you no longer use; own highly appreciated property; have substantial real estate holdings and wish to reduce estate tax burdens; or would like to be relieved of the responsibility of managing and caring for land.

A land donation:

    • Can result in a substantial income tax deduction.
    • Can be structured in a way that allows you to continue to live on the land or to
      receive a life income.

For more information, contact the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation office.

Land Stewardship Registry Program

If you are conserving and enhancing the natural resources on your land but are not ready for any permanent conservation method, consider enrolling in our Land Stewardship Registry Program. This is a non-bonding recognition program that rewards you for being a good land steward. If you agree to continue to conserve the land to the best of your ability and let us know if you sell or pass on the land, we will provide to you:

    • A certificate of enrollment
    • Map of the property
    • Information on good stewardship practices
    • Registry sign to post on your land,
      signifying your good stewardship

For more information or to enroll, call the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation office. Consider joining more than two dozen landowners in Jo Daviess County who have enrolled over 5,000 acres of land!