CONSERVATION EASEMENTS

• Providing custom reports reflecting landowners’ varied stewardship and legacy goals, as well as conforming to USPAP and UASFLA standards
• Offering extensive conservation easement knowledge and experience including large timberland tracts throughout the United States, ranches in the Great Plains, and small private tracts on lakes and rivers in the Midwest
• Agencies, land owners, and land trusts count on our appraisals to successfully meet owner objectives and secure the property rights of interest
• Verifiable track record of working with tax advisers, attorneys, and land trusts to complete fair market value conservation transactions
• Fluid understanding of conservation easement tax consequences and benefits

Compass Land Consultants’ Certified General Appraisal experts routinely perform conservation easement appraisals. We are experienced with all aspects of valuing whole and partial interests in various types of properties, and we produce quality reports consistent with IRS regulations.

We are land market experts in the Lake States region – valuing large and small projects for clients ranging in size and need – and serving everyone from families to large organizations.

The appraisal methodology we use to determine the value of rights acquired under conservation easements is termed “before and after” and requires two property appraisals. The property is appraised first as is, with all its available rights intact. The property is then appraised as if the conservation easement is in place, and restricting its use and affecting its ultimate value. The difference in the two appraisals is the impact of the conservation easement.

Examples of our conservation easement experience include Forest Legacy and completing forest easements on timberland in Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, New York, West Virginia, and South Dakota. We helped broker the Northern Great Lakes Forest Project – a collaboration between government, NGOs, and private business – with 260,000 acres successfully registered in a working forest conservation easement. Other projects have protected wildlife habitat, water quality, wetland ecosystems, urban forests, and the like.

Whether your motivation is funding, acquisition of property rights, ecological, protective, or altruistic, we are here to help.

We Value Nature.