A Conservation Easement (CE) provides a time-honored and legal way for families to preserve their lands. It assures landowners that their wishes for preservation of their property will be honored forever.

• Landowners continue to own their home and land — and live there. They can also mortgage the property, lease it, sell it, or pass it on to their heirs.
• A conservation easement is a legal document — an agreement between the landowner and the land trust that accepts it. It is a deed restriction that permanently limits a property’s future uses.
• Each CE document is individually drafted to meet the personal needs of the landowner.
• The CE is donated or transferred in a bargain sale to Cardinal which in turn agrees to monitor the land to assure that the conditions of the easement are met over time.
• The CE is recorded in the County Recorder’s office, and becomes part of the property’s title.
• Future owners of the property are bound by the CE’s terms.