Continental Divide Land Trust, Summit County, Colorado

Frequently Asked Questions

: Marks on Aspens from Gnawing Elk

What is a Land Trust?

A Land Trust is a non-governmental, non-profit charitable organization dedicated to the preservation of lands with significant natural qualities such as scenic lands, wildlife habitat, natural areas, recreational use, wetlands and watersheds, ranching and agricultural lands, and buffers between communities or development areas. These are known as “conservation values.”

Continental Divide Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is qualified to hold conservation easements donated by private and governmental landowners. Because the preservation of these properties is entrusted to us to ensure that the land remains in its natural state forever, we are known as a “land trust.”

What does a Land Trust do?

A land trust accomplishes a variety of objectives:

Protects scenic lands, habitat for wildlife and unusual plants, natural areas, wetlands and watersheds, recreational use, ranching and agricultural lands, and buffer areas.
Provides information, expertise and education about land preservation options to private land owners, government programs, developers, and others.
Accepts conservation easements on private and public land and protects the conservation values on those lands in perpetuity. It cares for its conservation lands through stewardship, monitoring, and assistance with litter pick-up and weed eradication efforts.
Enters into willing-donor or willing-seller conservation easements, bargain sales, life estates, charitable remainder trusts, and other land preservation techniques.
As a private non-profit organization, the Land Trust is able to work confidentially with private property owners, and those who cannot or will not work with government agencies.
Augments and complements local Town and County government open space programs and works cooperatively with those entities.
Some land trusts raise funds to purchase open space at market value or at a reduced rate (also called a “bargain sale”). Continental Divide Land Trust accepts donations of property and conservation easements, but has not purchased land.

What is Open Space?

Here in Colorado, “open space” has come to describe the iconic wide open spaces of the undeveloped landscape of the Old West. Once a sparsely populated state, Colorado is now home to over 4.6 million people and is visited by more than 24 million tourists each year. Development of all kinds – resorts, new homes, energy infrastructure, highways, shopping centers and more – is rapidly diminishing the wide open spaces that once characterized this beautiful state. Continental Divide Land Trust works to help protect Colorado's unique open spaces, those natural landscapes, river corridors, ranch lands, and mountain valleys that continue to make our state so special.

What is a Conservation Easement?

A conservation easement is a voluntary conveyance of legal interest in land, where a property owner gives or sells the development rights to a qualified preservation group, like Continental Divide Land Trust, to protect the conservation values on the land. The landowner retains ownership, but agrees not to develop it. Since the easement applies to future owners of the land, it ensures perpetual protection. Continental Divide Land Trust will ensure that this agreement is always adhered to, forever. Click here for more information about Conservation Easements.

Why do Landowners want to encumber their land with a Conservation Easement?

Landowners who consider a Conservation Easement realize that their land has special natural qualities and they want to see those qualities preserved. It may be wildlife habitat for a favorite bird or animal, preservation of the family’s ranching heritage, protection of a community trail, or simply love of the land.

A Conservation Easement can reduce the value of the property, meaning that the children may be able to inherit the land instead of sell it to pay estate taxes.

Landowners who donate a conservation easement on their land may also be eligible for tax benefits at both the Federal and State level.

What are the tax benefits of donating a Conservation Easement?

Click here for more information on the tax benefits of donating a Conservation Easement.

What are the public benefits of Conservation Easements?

The public benefits from the permanent protection of scenic landscapes, wildlife habitat, recreational trail access, productive ranch and agricultural acreage, buffers between communities, wetlands and watershed protection, and the preservation of unique natural lands.

The economic viability of our communities is also dependent in large part on the preservation of the natural beauty and wide open spaces for the enjoyment of the public and protection of wildlife.

Not all land protected by a Conservation Easement is available for public access. Even where conserved land is closed to public use, the public still benefits from the protection of scenic views, wildlife habitat, watershed protection, and ranching and agricultural lands.

Continental Divide Land Trust currently holds conservation easements on various properties in Summit and Park Counties that total over 2,500 acres.

If I put a Conservation Easement on my property, must I allow public access?

No. You are not required to allow public access, even if public funds are used to purchase development rights. Allowing public access for a trail or other use would be a voluntary donation by the landowner. However, the Land Trust does currently hold Conservation Easements on several publicly owned properties on which public access is allowed and encouraged, such as McCullough Gulch and Iron Springs.

What happens to the Conservation Easement if I sell the land or die?

Land protected with a Conservation Easement may be sold or passed down to one's heirs. The easement agreement remains a permanent part of the title and will run with the land even after its transfer. The landowner may continue to use and enjoy the land in ways consistent with the easement, which may include ranching, recreation or other uses. In some circumstances, easements may allow for additional homesites on a small portion of the property, or may provide for small "disturbance envelopes” within which the uses are not restricted by the easement.

Are Water Rights included in a Conservation Easement?

If the conservation values of the land depend on water, and the landowner owns the water rights, water rights are usually part of the Deed of Conservation Easement. Some or all of the water rights stay with the land to protect wetlands, river corridors, irrigated hay meadows, and other water-dependent conservation resources. For more information on encumbering water rights with a conservation easement, see the link for the Colorado Water Trust on the Friends of Open Space page.

Do you work with government open space programs?

Yes, CDLT works with local government open space programs in varying capacities: sharing information, helping with educational programs, providing volunteers for projects, and holding Conservation Easements. Whenever a municipality receives funding from Great Outdoors Colorado Trust (GOCO) (the Colorado Lottery program) to purchase land for open space, GOCO requires a third party restriction on the use of that land to forever ensure that the land stays as open space. This third party restriction is usually in the form of a Conservation Easement. Continental Divide Land Trust holds numerous Conservation Easements for local government open space programs such as Upper French Gulch, 1298 Blue River Parkway, and the Wildernest-Mesa Cortina Extension property.

How are you different from the government open space programs?

CDLT is a private, non-governmental organization and is not tax-supported. The Land Trust does not have the funds to purchase lands for protection, without engaging in fundraising for major private gifts.

Many private landowners are not interested in working with a government agency when they are ready to preserve their land. As a private non-profit organization, CDLT is able to work with these landowners confidentially.

When a local government agency needs a third-party organization to hold a Conservation Easement on their land, as is required by funding from Great Outdoors Colorado Trust, then CDLT can fill that role for the community’s open space programs.

CDLT augments and complements local government open space programs, and provides yet another tool in the tool box of land protection options in our community.

Do you want to lock up all the land so it can’t be developed?

No, not all land is suitable for preservation as open space. CDLT is interested in lands with conservation values of significant public benefit, such as wildlife habitat, wildlife migration corridors, scenic views, recreational opportunities, buffers between communities, and the preservation of our community’s ranching and agricultural heritage.

If Conservation Easements are donated, why does Continental Divide Land Trust need funding?

In taking on the responsibility to negotiate, accept, and hold conservation easements forever, the Land Trust incurs considerable expenses. In the first phase of the negotiations, CDLT staff and Board meet with landowners, tour the property, identify the conservation values, explain the process, provide information and documents, work with the landowner’s attorneys, negotiate the terms of the Deed of Conservation Easement, and oversee the process at every step along the way. The Land Trust will also work with naturalists and biologists to identify and document the natural qualities of the land.

Once the supporting documents have been approved and the Deed of Conservation Easement has been finalized and recorded, the Land Trust takes on the perpetual responsibility of stewardship of the land to ensure that the agreed upon conservation values are protected forever. This involves an annual visit to the property, easement monitoring, and on-going communication with the landowners – current and future.

To be considered a “qualified organization” by the Internal Revenue Service to accept and hold conservation easements, continuing education programs are also necessary, involving expense of course registration, conference fees, and travel.

Because land protected by a Conservation Easement provides benefit to the public, the Land Trust seeks the public’s financial support to further our mission and programs.

Where does the Land Trust’s funding come from?

From people like you who want to see the natural beauty of Summit County and Central Colorado protected for now and future generations. Most of our funding comes from individuals, local businesses and private foundations. Some funding comes from special events and educational programs. Government funding is a smaller part of our budget. We may also request a donation in lieu of a fee for the transaction costs associated with accepting a Conservation Easement.

Click here to help support Continental Divide Land Trust.

Click here to see our most recent CDLT Annual Report and IRS Form 990.

How do you provide for the long-term stewardship of the Conservation Easements you hold?

With the acceptance of each Conservation Easement, we also request a cash donation that is applied to our Stewardship Endowment Fund. In some cases, we may raise those funds through private donations rather than request the funds from the easement donor.

The Land Trust’s Stewardship Fund is invested to protect it from inflation, as well as to provide a small annual return to help fund monitoring expenses. The principle is kept intact to be used in the event an easement needs to be defended in the future.

What is Easement Monitoring?

Conservation Easements held by the Land Trust are monitored annually to ensure that the conservation values of the land are being preserved and to determine if the terms of the easement are being upheld. Each year, CDLT monitors each of the conservation easements it holds, using staff and trained volunteers. Monitoring volunteers walk the boundaries of the property and check internal areas of interest, taking notes and photos at designated photo points along the way. For more information, please see Volunteer.

How can I protect my open space property from future development?

You can work with CDLT to determine the best conservation tool for protecting your land. You can select from a number of options, including the outright donation of your property, a conservation easement that permanently restricts development, or other land protection tools. We recommend legal and financial planning advice before embarking on a land conservation decision.

I don’t own property, yet I want to help preserve natural space in central Colorado. What can I do?

You can play a part by getting to know CDLT and staying current with conservation news in the community, volunteering your time, supporting CDLT financially, and talking with your friends and neighbors about land conservation tools. That way, you can help your community protect the land that you think is environmentally, historically, or economically important. Click here for ways to get involved in protecting open space.

Also, you may want to get involved in your state or local planning activities. Planning agencies often provide opportunities for public input on development issues that affect citizens. You can request to be placed on their mailing lists to receive updates on current and future plans for your area. Citizen input can improve the planning process and positively affect future developments to improve the overall health of your community.

Continental Divide Land Trust

Join Our Email List

Continental Divide Land Trust, Saving Mountain Landscapes Forever