The guide below is intended to help Texas landowners understand one of the most flexible and effective tools available to conserve and protect private property – the conservation easement. A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement that ensures a property will be conserved for some specified conservation purpose, determined by the landowner, for generations to come. Every conservation easement is individually crafted and reflects the unique conservation values of the land protected, as well as the needs and desires of the landowner for continued management and stewardship.

The guidebook provides information and on how these easements work, on the financial incentives available, and profiles fifteen landowners who have used a conservation easement to protect some portion of their land. These profiles illustrate how conservation easements can help people to conserve their privately held lands and waters for agricultural production, wildlife habitat protection, open space, and water quality protection…now, and for the benefit of future generations.