Land Protection

Voluntary land protection agreements (often called conservation easements) between a landowner and Sequoia Riverlands Trust establish the allowable future uses of a property. The terms are written in accordance with the landowner’s values and upheld in perpetuity by Sequoia Riverlands Trust regardless of future ownership changes. Essentially, conservation easements are voluntary restrictions on the use of privately owned land, generally designed to be appropriate to the specific circumstances and concerns of both the landowner and the easement holder.

Sequoia Riverlands Trust works with landowners to design easement provisions allowing continued economic use of their land, while conserving the land’s important natural features. As a result, no two conservation easements are alike. By voluntarily limiting some activities, a conservation easement allows a landowner to retain private ownership while also achieving other goals, like protecting family farming operations, preserving open space or conserving habitat for wildlife. Typically, a conservation easement limits subdivision and non-agricultural, commercial uses.

Landowners choose to donate or sell conservation easements for a variety of reasons. Often, the decision comes from the landowner’s connection to their land, and their desire to see it remain intact and used for agriculture, open space, or wildlife habitat into the future. Many people also want to ensure that their children can inherit their property in its entirety. By reducing the land’s appraised value through a conservation easement, property and estate taxes may be lowered.

Sequoia Riverlands Trust can help landowners protect their property by purchasing conservation easements and then holding the title to these easements. Landowners also can make a charitable contribution of land or conservation easements to Sequoia Riverlands Trust, usually qualifying them for significant income tax deductions.

Conservation easements are voluntary agreements between landowners and Sequoia Riverlands Trust that permanently protect land from development while allowing continued private ownership and use. These agreements are tailored to each property and its owner’s goals, ensuring protection of natural and cultural values for future generations.

Designed to keep working farms and ranches in production, agricultural conservation easements prevent conversion to non-agricultural uses while allowing sustainable land management. These easements help maintain local food systems and strengthen regional economies.

Developers and agencies looking to offset environmental impacts can work with Sequoia Riverlands Trust to establish mitigation easements. These legally binding agreements ensure that land is managed specifically to compensate for habitat loss elsewhere, supporting long-term ecological balance.

Fee-title acquisition involves the outright purchase or donation of land, transferring full ownership to Sequoia Riverlands Trust. Unlike voluntary land protection agreements, where landowners retain ownership while limiting property uses, fee-title acquisitions allow Sequoia Riverlands Trust to manage and steward the land directly. This approach is used most often to protect ecologically significant areas, establish nature preserves with public access, and restore vital habitats that have been degraded.

When Sequoia Riverlands Trust acquires land through fee-title, it ensures long-term conservation and active management for ecological health, water conservation, public benefit, and compatible land uses such as education, research, tribal access, and habitat restoration. In most cases, the land may also be leased to a sustainable agricultural use that also helps meet the goals of our land management plan. For instance, having cows graze at Kaweah Oaks Preserve helps us keep vegetation at manageable levels and mitigate against fire risk. Occasionally fee-title lands are transferred to partner organizations, agencies, or tribes. 

Fee-title acquisitions play a crucial role in landscape-scale conservation efforts, protecting open spaces, wildlife corridors, and working lands while enhancing regional climate resilience and offsetting development pressures. When Sequoia Riverlands Trust is the property owner it allows more robust and adaptable management, opens opportunities for public access and educational opportunities, and large-scale habitat restoration.

Landowners may choose to sell or donate land to Sequoia Riverlands Trust to protect the ecological values in perpetuity. Donations of land can provide significant tax benefits, including income tax deductions and potential estate tax reductions. Selling land to SRT provides landowners with financial compensation. More importantly, it offers peace of mind—knowing that their land will be safeguarded for generations to come.