Land Conservation

Menu of Land-Saving Techniques

The Mendocino Land Trust considers a range of techniques in permanently protecting and managing land and associated natural resources. The range of techniques can be creatively applied, singly or in combination, to meet the Land Trust’s conservation objectives.

The principal tools available to the Land Trust in its efforts to conserve specific parcels of land include:

1. Full market value purchases

2. Donations or bargain sales

3. Conservation easements

4. Options and rights-of-first-refusal

5. Leases and management agreements

6. Remainder interests

7. Undivided interests

8. Dedications and preacquisitions

9. Conservation investors or buyers

10. Limited or joint venture development

11. Installment sales

12. Lease with option to buy

13. Purchase (or donation) and leaseback

14. Donation by will

15. Exchange

These tools are by no means mutually exclusive. Easements, for example, may be acquired by purchase or by donation. The bargain sale option is an intermediate step between donation (acquisition at no cost) and purchase at full market value. Options and rights-of-first refusal can be purchased either to the full interest in a property or to lesser interests such as an easement. The limited development alternative typically involves clustering higher development densities on less environmentally sensitive portions of a site in order to pay for protecting the sensitive portions by the imposition of an easement or other deed restriction.



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	MLT Conserve Your Land Current Projects Historic Projects Conservation Map Links Sign Up for Our Newsletter Email Address: Tools Sitemap Print Version Mailform Login P.O. Box 1094 Mendocino, California 95460 (707) 962-0470 phone (707) 962-0444 fax info@mendocinolandtrust.org Office Location 330 North Franklin Street, Suite 7 Fort Bragg, CA 95437 The Mendocino Land Trust is a member of the Land Trust Alliance since 1985 and the California Council of Land Trusts since 2007		Land Conservation Menu of Land-Saving Techniques The Mendocino Land Trust considers a range of techniques in permanently protecting and managing land and associated natural resources. The range of techniques can be creatively applied, singly or in combination, to meet the Land Trust’s conservation objectives. The principal tools available to the Land Trust in its efforts to conserve specific parcels of land include: 1. Full market value purchases 2. Donations or bargain sales 3. Conservation easements 4. Options and rights-of-first-refusal 5. Leases and management agreements 6. Remainder interests 7. Undivided interests 8. Dedications and preacquisitions 9. Conservation investors or buyers 10. Limited or joint venture development 11. Installment sales 12. Lease with option to buy 13. Purchase (or donation) and leaseback 14. Donation by will 15. Exchange These tools are by no means mutually exclusive. Easements, for example, may be acquired by purchase or by donation. The bargain sale option is an intermediate step between donation (acquisition at no cost) and purchase at full market value. Options and rights-of-first refusal can be purchased either to the full interest in a property or to lesser interests such as an easement. The limited development alternative typically involves clustering higher development densities on less environmentally sensitive portions of a site in order to pay for protecting the sensitive portions by the imposition of an easement or other deed restriction.