Utah Open Lands Conservation Association is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

land trust Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which th ...

conservation association in the United States. It is chartered to preserve and protect open space in order to maintain

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

's natural heritage and quality of life for present and future generations. This is achieved by assisting private landowners,

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

agencies and communities in the voluntary preservation of the agricultural, scenic, recreational, historic and wildlife values of open land. Utah Open Lands started in

Summit County, Utah Summit County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a rugged and mountainous area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 36,324. Its county seat is Coalville, and the largest city is Park City. History The county ...

, as the Summit Land Conservation Association in 1990. The organization expanded to be a statewide land trust in 1995. Utah Open Lands works with landowners who want to preserve their land for conservation purposes. Their primary conservation tool is the conservation easement, which is a permanent, legally binding contract that restricts development to protect the special features of the property. Land ownership often remains unchanged when the land is protected by a

conservation easement In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified private land conservation organization (often called a "land trust") or gove ...

, meaning that the landowner retains title to the land and can continue to live on the land, use it, sell it, and or pass it on to the next generation. The Farm and Ranch Protection Act made available estate and income tax benefits for landowners who protect their land with conservation easements. The donation of a conservation easement may be considered a charitable contribution. Utah Open Lands has effectively conserved over of critical open land in Utah.

References

External links

* * Environment of Utah Environmental organizations based in Utah Land trusts in the United States Protected areas of Utah Environmental organizations established in 1990 1990 establishments in Utah {{Utah-stub