There are many ways you can support Athens Conservancy’s mission, and invest in one of our most important local resources – the land. Your gift will help preserve the land now and for generations, protecting wildlife and connecting people with nature. For an overview of giving opportunities, go here.
See below for some information about gifts of land and conservation easements. We are happy to talk with you any time; simply email Victoria at victoria@athensconservancy.org or reach out to any of our board members.
Gifts of land
Landowners may choose to donate their land to Athens Conservancy for conservation and protection. Preserving land and wildlife habitat is one of the most significant legacies a landowner can leave for future generations.
If you choose to donate your land, we can work with you to find the arrangement that works best for you. One meaningful option is to donate the land outright; Athens Conservancy becomes the full owner of the property and is responsible for its care, protection and management as a nature preserve.
If you are considering a land donation, we will start by walking your land to consider its suitability for a preserve, evaluating the forest type, diversity of plant and animal species, and more. Preserving your land means we will protect it in perpetuity, making it a wonderful legacy for future generations.
Please contact us if you are considering making a donation of land; we are happy to discuss considerations and questions.
Conservation easements
A conservation easement can permanently protect your land while you own it, or even after you sell it. It is a legal agreement between a landowner and land trust to permanently limit use of the land in order to protect its conservation value, and it can have tax benefits to the landowner. You could continue to own it, sell it, or pass it to your heirs … but the conservation protections would remain.
Sometimes, landowners who create conservation easements keep the land for their private use only. Other owners may choose to open the land to the public for access and enjoyment, while continuing to retain ownership.
We’re happy to provide more details and answer questions.
Types of Land Donations: What’s the Process?
There are two quite different types of land donations: for preserve establishment or expansion, and for sale for income to the organization.
We will tell you at the outset whether or not we think the land has preservation value. If you decide to bequeath the land to us to sell, we will consider placing a conservation easement on it first, thus restricting future property owners in the use of the land. We can at least guarantee that future property owners can be held to a certain performance standard in regard to the land.
When a new tract of land is suggested as a possible preserve, we always want to walk the land to survey its quality and condition. We have a great deal of expertise on our board for this. We will look at things like forest type and age, presence of non-native species, the diversity of native species including any rare ones, the geology, the bird life, and so forth.
We also have the expertise to research the history of the land to ensure that there are no surprises for you or for us.
There is also a special option that may be rewarding for both parties: donation of land now, while you continue to live on it. This is called a lifetime tenancy or lifetime estate. When you die or decide to relinquish the use of the land, then full title reverts to us. There are many advantages to this approach, and the lifetime estate can be for the entire tract, or just for a designated area.
If you are interested in donating land, please email us at: info@athensconservancy.org
