Your Lands
The main tool of the Allegheny Valley Conservancy is the conservation easement, a voluntary legal agreement between the property owner and the Conservancy that specifies what activities may or may not occur on a particular property. These agreements may address such things as timbering, constructing buildings, drilling, farming and so on. Each property owner may make the determination about which of these rights will be placed into protection. Once a legal conservation easement has been negotiated, it is permanent and stays with the land even if it is sold.
The Allegheny Valley Conservancy will assist landowners tailor a conservation plan to their individual situation and financial circumstances, and determine the property’s conservation values. The landowner can retain ownership of the property but the easement will be held and enforced by the Conservancy.
Conservation Easement A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. It allows the landowner to continue to own and use the land and to sell it or pass it on to heirs. A landowner may sell a conservation easement, but usually easements are donated. If the donation benefits the public by permanently protecting important conservation resources and meets other federal tax code requirements, it can qualify as a tax-deductible charitable donation. The amount of the donation is the difference between the land’s value with the easement and its value without the easement. Placing an easement on property may or may not result in property tax savings. Find more information through the Land Trust Alliance.
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St. George - easement
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The first conservation easement held by AVC is for the Allegheny Valley Trails Association (AVTA). The organization offered to donate the easement on property AVTA owns along the Allegheny River Trail in southern Venango County Pennsylvania near the Village of St. George. The easement protects 15 acres of Allegheny River riparian corridor and offers camping along the trail. Look for the Adirondack shelters near mile 18.
White - easement
"In my view French Creek is a historically and environmentally unique and important stream. For those of us who own property abutting the stream we have a responsibility to maintain and, as best possible, preserve or improve the quality of the stream. The Allegheny Valley Conservancy not only focuses on sustaining the stream's high aesthetic and use qualities, but also, through its expertise, provides those so inclined with information and assistance to do their part in preserving and improving the stream." - Bill White
Mr. White’s easement protects 152 acres of wooded land adjacent to French Creek.
Stanley & Goodblood - easement
This land is a bird sanctuary as well as an area for turtle research. With over 400 acres of protected land in a variety of habitats, there is also significant frontage along French Creek. It also adjoins the Buttermilk Bluffs land co-owned by the Allegheny Valley Conservancy and the French Creek Valley Conservancy resulting in a very large area permanently conserved for wildlife habitat, scenic value and water quality.
