Keeping land intact through conservation agreements

Not everyone likes conservation easements.

Landowners Steve and Bonnie Hess were skeptical too, but the more information they got, the more they liked the idea.

"We decided to sign a conservation easement because we saw it as a way to hang on to our property and enjoy it as a family," says Steve Hess, who along with his wife, Bonnie, owns 1,360 acres of ranchland in the Centennial Valley of southwestern Montana.

In March 2004, the Hess family signed a conservation easement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that paid them to forego certain development rights on their scenic property. The Nature Conservancy helped negotiate the agreement.

Likewise, their son-in-law, Bill Clarno, and his partner, Randall Bergeson, have secured a similar conservation agreement on their 640 acres of adjacent land.

In addition to conserving this important wildlife habitat, the easement allows for the continued cattle operation and limited logging, but no mining or major building.

"At first we shied away from the idea of  [a conservation easement], but as we got more information and began talking to our lawyer and tax advisor, we started to see the advantages," says Hess.

The easement value, based on an independent appraisal, was enough for the Hess family to reduce their debt and keep the land, which in turn enabled their daughter and son-in-law to continue their grazing lease.

See our fact sheet on Conservancy conservation easements in Montana.

Voluntary conservation agreements are a way for private landowners to keep their lands intact, and in some cases, expand their ranch operations. These purchased easements offer one more tool for ranchers.

"People in agriculture are already confined. We need all the tools we can get."  -- landowner Steve Hess

The Nature Conservancy has conservation agreements with private ranchers all across Montana.  More than 239,000 acres are protected from residential development through Conservancy conservation easements. 

• Along the Rocky Mountain Front, with the Gollehon, Dellwo, Crary and Rappold ranch families
• In the Centennial Valley, with the Huntsman, Saier and Hess ranch families
• In the Blackfoot, with the Mannix and E Bar L ranches
• In the North Fork of the Flathead River valley, the  Rocky Bar O ranch
• In the Madison Valley, on the Sun Ranch
• And all across Montana

Public benefits of conservation easements

• conserves wildlife habitat
• preserves open space
• prevents subdivision
• preserves ranchland and area economy
• maintains character of rural community
• keeps down county costs related to servicing developments
• provides a buffer to public lands

Landowner benefits

• maintains ranching tradition
• keeps ranch intact
• expands ranching operations
• preserves options for children and grandchildren to ranch
• provides tax benefits that can enable good management