For Landowners
Your property is more than real estate. It's a legacy.
We work with landowners across Sutter, Yuba, and Colusa counties to protect land permanently — while it stays in private ownership, in production, and in the family.
Conservation Options for Landowners
Ways to protect your land
Our staff works with landowners to preserve the natural landscape and protect wildlife habitat, water quality, and historic resources — while promoting traditional uses such as agriculture, hunting, and forestry.
Conservation easement
A voluntary legal agreement that permanently limits development while you keep ownership, farm the land, and pass it on. Easements can be purchased, donated, or a combination of the two.
Most common option
Fee title acquisition
In some cases we acquire property outright — by purchase or donation — and manage it ourselves, as we do at North Butte and the West Butte Schoolhouse.
For high-value habitat or historic sites
Donation by will
You can specify in your will that a conservation easement or the property itself be given to a qualifying organization upon your death, reducing the taxable value of your estate.
See Legacy Giving →
What is a Conservation Easement?
The short version
A conservation easement protects private land from development or other uses incompatible with your conservation goals. By granting one, you’re assured the conservation values of your property are protected in perpetuity — and you keep the right to live on it, farm it, sell it, and pass it down.
What you keep
- Ownership of the land — we never own any part of it
- The right to sell, mortgage, or transfer the property
- Continued agricultural and recreational use
- Use of existing buildings, without restrictions
- Income from traditional and sustainable uses
- Your privacy
What the easement limits
- Subdivision of the property
- Construction of new structures
- New impermeable surfaces
- Uses incompatible with the conservation values
- An easement should never be so restrictive that it makes the land a financial burden on present or future owners.
Our responsibility
- Annual monitoring site visits and reports
- Sign maintenance and landowner relations
- Easement defense, backed by Terrafirma insurance
- A non-wasting stewardship endowment for every easement
- Stewardship typically costs $4,000–5,000 per year, funded by an endowment of roughly $140,000 per property.
How the process works
STEP 01
Questionnaire & title
You complete a landowner questionnaire and share a current preliminary title report.
STEP 02
Site visit
We walk the property with you and talk through existing and potential future uses.
STEP 03
Board approval
An internal review goes to our board, which approves the project so we can formally engage.
STEP 04
Funding & recording
We pursue grant funding, then draft and record the easement. A retainer covers staff time.
Landowner FAQ & Myths
Common landowner questions
Tap any question to expand it. For anything specific to your property, please talk to our lands team — and consult your own tax attorney on tax questions.
Why should I grant a conservation easement?
Conservation easements protect private land from development or other uses incompatible with the preservation goals. By granting an easement, you are assured that the conservation values of the property will be protected in perpetuity — landowners play a vital role in preserving America’s natural heritage for future generations. Easements can be purchased or donated, or a combination of the two. Landowners who donate easements to a “qualified” charitable conservation organization can receive substantial tax deductions if the transferred rights provide a significant public benefit. Sutter Buttes Land Trust meets the criteria of a qualified charitable organization under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3).
If there is an easement on my property, does the Land Trust control my property?
No. The land trust does not have ownership of any part of the property on which it holds an easement. You may mortgage, sell, or otherwise transfer the property. Land trusts do, however, have a responsibility to make sure the terms of the easement are being honored, through periodic onsite monitoring and other means.
Does the agreement allow flexibility in how the land is used?
Yes. The reserved rights for each property are intended to allow agricultural, residential, and recreational uses, as well as economic uses, while protecting the conservation values of the land. A conservation easement should not be so restrictive — should not remove so many opportunities to generate revenue from the land — that it could make the land a financial burden on present or future owners.
Can the family continue to use the property and existing buildings?
Yes. The easement will limit both subdivision and the construction of new structures or impermeable surfaces, but existing buildings and agricultural operations can continue to be used without restrictions. You retain all rights in the property other than those specifically removed or restricted by the easement — generally including the rights to privacy, to convey ownership, to continued agricultural or recreational activities, and to generate income from traditional and sustainable uses of the land.
Does the size of the property affect eligibility?
Our minimum acreage requirement is 50 acres. Larger parcels typically get priority over smaller easement acreage projects.
How long does the easement process take?
Most projects typically take about 2.5 years to complete, which includes completing the grant applications needed to fund the purchase of the easement.
How can donating an easement reduce income tax?
The donation of a conservation easement is a tax-deductible charitable gift, provided the easement is perpetual and donated exclusively for conservation purposes to a qualified organization or public agency. The amount saved depends on the value of the property: it is appraised both at fair market value without easement restrictions and with them, and the difference is the easement value. Potential easement donors should seek legal counsel from their own tax attorney.
Can donating an easement reduce property tax?
Property tax assessment is usually based on market value, which reflects development potential. If a conservation easement reduces the development potential of the property, it may reduce the level of assessment and the amount of property taxes owed. The actual reduction, if any, depends on many factors, including state law and the decisions of local officials and assessors. Landowners should contact the Sutter County Assessor’s office with further questions.
How can granting an easement reduce estate tax?
Federal estate tax is levied not on the value of a property for its existing use but on its fair market value — often what a developer would pay — which can force heirs to sell in order to pay the taxes. If the property has been restricted by a perpetual conservation easement before the owner’s death, it must be valued in the estate at its restricted value, lowering the estate tax. An owner can also specify in a will that a charitable gift of an easement be made upon death. We recommend contacting your estate tax attorney for clarification based on your situation.
What is a stewardship endowment, and how much is required?
Each easement must include a non-wasting stewardship endowment that funds land trust stewardship tasks in perpetuity — annual monitoring visits, monitoring reports, and sign maintenance, plus allocations for landowner relations, easement defense, transfer of ownership, exercised reserved rights, and amendments. These costs typically average $4,000–$5,000 per year depending on property size and complexity, so an endowment of roughly $140,000 is needed to generate about a $5,000 annual return.
How does the Land Trust legally protect the property?
Annual monitoring visits ensure the terms of the easement are being adhered to. If we discover a violation, we document it and attempt to resolve the issue with the landowner. If resolution requires legal action, Sutter Buttes Land Trust is a member of Terrafirma, which insures its members against the legal costs of defending conservation and provides access to a collective fund and a national team of experts.
How do I get started?
We typically start by having the landowner complete a landowner questionnaire and provide a current preliminary title report, which help us understand the property and its existing and potential future uses. We follow up with a site visit and a meeting. Once we have compiled basic property information and completed an internal project review, it goes to our board for approval — which allows us to formally engage and pursue funding, and is the point at which we would require a monetary retainer to cover staff time.
Conservation Map
4,716 acres protected — and counting
Every property below is permanently protected by Sutter Buttes Land Trust across Sutter, Yuba, and Colusa counties — working farms, wildlife habitat, and historic sites.
Owned & managed by Sutter Buttes Land Trust
Agricultural conservation easement
Mitigation preserve
Click any marker to explore another protected property.
Marker size reflects acreage.
Mitigation & Professional Services
For agencies, developers, and municipalities
Beyond working with private landowners, the Land Trust provides fee-based professional services across our region.
01
Landowner options counseling
Presenting landowners with a variety of options for preserving their lands while retaining private ownership and control.
02
Mitigation easements
Holding conservation easements for mitigation projects and accepting stewardship contracts. We currently hold mitigation preserves for the Army Corps, USFWS, and CDFW.
03
Planning & consulting
Open space planning, acquisition and management of open space, and drafting, holding, and monitoring of conservation easements for developers, municipalities, and governments.
04
Stewardship & monitoring
Professional stewardship for sensitive natural areas — identifying critical ecological processes on a site and implementing adaptive management to meet protection goals.
Contact Our Lands Team
Let's talk about your land
Every conversation starts the same way — an informal talk about your property, your family’s goals, and whether conservation is a fit. There’s no obligation.
Questions? Reach out to our Executive Director and Lands Manager directly.
Questions? Reach out to our Executive Director and Lands Manager directly.
Lisa Lindman
Executive Director & Lands Manager