Conservation easements have become an important tool for landowners who want to establish perpetual conservation principals on a specific property. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) established regulations that allow landowners to donate real property interests and rights to a qualified 501c (3) conservation organization that allows the landowner to take tax deductions for the value of their donated rights. These regulations were established to provide for the long-term protection and conservation of real property and allows the landowner to capture the value through tax deductions for the rights that they give up through time in the name of conservation.

The Headwaters resource managers have been and continue to be on the cutting edge when it comes to assisting landowners considering placing a conservation easement on their property. We have, over time, completed the Baseline Documentation Reports (BDRs), an important part of the conservation easement donation process, for numerous properties across the southern United States. The Headwaters BDR documentation has, in fact, become the standard for many of the conservation organizations in the region. In addition, our resource professionals can provide assistance to landowners in all phases of the conservation easement donation process and can lead and guide landowners through the process and the decisions that need to be made for the donation.