Your land is your legacy. It deserves to be protected, for your financial bottom line and the health of the natural world it represents. Partnering with Ducks Unlimited on a conservation easement is the long-term solution for you and wildlife.
Conservation easements can meet the needs of interested owners of working farms, ranches, timberlands, sporting properties, and recreational lands, who wish to protect valuable natural resources while retaining ownership of the property. A perpetual conservation easement allows a landowner to protect key natural habitats of a property while continuing to use the area for economic gain or recreation. It may also qualify you for reductions in income, property, and estate taxes.
A conservation easement is a legal agreement that you, the landowner, and DU make to restrict the type of activities and development allowed on your property, tailored to meet your needs and interests. DU believes that private lands can benefit wildlife and still produce an economic return to its owner.
DU's program accepts easements in perpetuity through its affiliate Wetlands America Trust, as well as accompanying donations to cover the costs of annual monitoring effort. DU agrees to monitor the property on a yearly basis to ensure the protection of its natural resources for years to come. Such protection will ensure that large acreages of wetlands, riparian habitats, and important uplands will be preserved for the benefit of waterfowl, wildlife, and the enjoyment of future generations.
Peggy Watkins is a renowned sporting artist. Through her travels with her husband, Todd, they became familiar with the concept of conservation easements. When they bought their property in the ACE Basin of South Carolina, they knew what direction they wanted to go in. After finalizing the terms of the easement with Ducks Unlimited, they have no regrets. "The increase in general wildlife on this property has just been unbelievable," Todd says. "Ducks were a focus, and we have an improved duck population. We also see wood storks, egrets, and every type of shorebird and wading bird. On some days it looks like Africa out there."
Trevor and Sarah Siperek are first-generation ranchers who own and manage a ranch within Washington State’s Channeled Scablands. The property location falls within one of Intermountain West Joint Venture’s (IWJV) priority Bird Habitat Conservation Areas. In 2010, DU successfully completed a conservation easement that protects a portion of the Siperek’s property from future development. The easement also allows for improvements to waterflow and protection of their pastures and any migratory waterfowl habitat. “We are always trying to find ways that we can be better stewards and caretakers of the land,” said Sarah. “We often joke that ‘we ranch for ducks’ because if we have healthy resilient wet meadows and wetlands, then it translates to better forage and hay production for our seasonal cattle grazing operations” Trevor added.
When this 425-acre farm field along the Mississippi River was no longer fit for farming, Nick Reding and his father bought it with the plan to revert it back to a more natural self-sustaining wetland habitat. Reding partnered with Ducks Unlimited to establish a conservation easement on all 425 acres in 2014 and the partnered with DU and the Missouri Agriculture Wetland Initiative program to restore 30 acres. “It makes total sense from a taxpayer standpoint,” Reding said.
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