For private landowners who wish to commit to the long term conservation of their land, several options are available: conservation agreements (easements), land donations, sales and bequests of land to registered land trusts, restrictive covenants, and leases. For more information about protecting your land, please contact the Rainy Lake Conservancy or the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
 
Current Status of Rainy Lake Conservancy's Conservation Easements
To complement the Ontario government's decision to establish conservation reserves on the crown land islands of Rainy Lake in 1997, five US members of the Rainy Lake Conservancy decided to protect portions of their own islands through conservation easements. They are now in the process of drafting conservation easements with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and US-based Friends of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. The US-based Friends of The Nature Conservancy of Canada received prescribed donee status from the Canadian government in early May 2007. This means that the easements on US owned islands can now proceed. The long term conservation of privately owned Rainy Lake islands will demonstrate Conservancy members' commitment to conservation on Rainy Lake and will also encourage others to preserve their properties through similar agreements.
 
What is a conservation agreement (easement)?
A conservation agreement (easement) is a voluntary, legal agreement between a property owner and a qualified conservation organization such as a land trust. Under the terms of the agreement, the property owner conserves the natural or cultural values of his land while still holding title, living on, selling, using, or passing on the land. The easement is a flexible document tailored to meet the needs of the owner, the land's values, and the goals of the land trust. It benefits the land by limiting the kind of development activities that can take place, and it may also confer tax advantages to the owner. Once registered in the lands titles or registry office, the agreement is attached to the title of the land forever and binds current and future owners to the terms outlined in the agreement.

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