Article on Interpreting Conservation Easements

Nancy A. McLaughlin (Robert W. Swenson Professor of Law, S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah) recently published an article entitled, Interpreting Conservation Easements, 29 Probate & Property No. 2, 30 (March/April 2015).  Provided below is an excerpt from the introduction of the article:

The public is investing billions of dollars in conservation easements through federal, state, and local tax incentives and easement-purchase programs. The National Conservation Easement Database estimates the roughly 40 million acres are now encumbered by conservation easements. As the number of conservation easements grows, the easements become more complex, and the underlying lands change hands, we can expect to see an increasing number of disputes involving the interpretation of these instruments.

A key question in this context is whether conservation easements should be interpreted in favor of the free use of land, which is a rule of construction often applied in the private servitude context. The answer is no.