Northern Bobwhite. Photo: Cheryl Johnson/Audubon Photography Awards
Northern Bobwhite. Photo: Cheryl Johnson/Audubon Photography Awards

Conservation Easements

Benefits for the General Public

The benefits of easements are not limited to just landowners

  • Through an easement, cherished scenic views, wildlife habitat, water quality, and historic sites are protected from development, fragmentation, and degradation, which benefits us all.
  • By keeping lands in private ownership that conserve natural Nebraska, the taxpayer does not bear the cost of land management.
  • Conservation and agricultural land easements can also provide an effective buffer on the border of our public lands to prevent development across the fence line that could adversely affect the public's use and enjoyment of those lands.
  • Nebraska’s scenic and ecologically unique regions in Nebraska are home to many species such as elk, bighorn sheep, prairie chickens, and others that depend on wide-open spaces. If these lands are subdivided, fragmented, and converted, it makes it difficult for wildlife species, including those that are hunted and enjoyed by wildlife viewers to survive.
  • Easements can keep development out of floodplains and reduce urban sprawl that results in an increased demand for public services. They can protect water quality and provide a tool to enhance water quantity in the over-appropriated river basins.

How you can help, right now