NE Wyoming News

Congresswomen Harriet Hageman and Julie Fedorchak have introduced the Landowner Easement Rights Act. This legislation aims to limit new conservation easements by the Department of the Interior to 30 years. It also gives landowners the opportunity to renegotiate terms, renew agreements, or repurchase conservation easements at fair market value.

The bill does not compel individuals to modify existing easements if they wish to maintain them. Instead, it provides flexibility for those who desire changes. The objective is to enhance options for landowners who currently lack means to alter their agreements.

“Under our current system of perpetual conservation easements, the devil is in the details. Americans seeking new means of conservation and financial returns on their land enter conservation easements and soon discover they’ve ceded some of their most important private property rights, including development rights and management decisions, to third parties who increasingly work more as government agents than with the landowner. Intergenerational land use restrictions can cause serious problems with little to no recourse. This bill ends the current policy and allows a landowner to enter into time-limited conservation easements, thereby ensuring that each generation can make decisions regarding their property,” said Rep. Hageman.

Rep. Fedorchak elaborated on the necessity of the bill, stating, “North Dakota landowners are among the best stewards of our natural resources, and they don’t need the federal government locking up their land forever,” adding that the proposed legislation “restores balance, gives landowners flexibility, and allows them the freedom to reassess, renegotiate, and reclaim control over their property. Conservation should be a partnership, not a one-sided permanent restriction.”

Margaret Byfield, Executive Director of American Stewards for Liberty, supported the initiative by saying, “No one has the right to permanently impair the property rights of future generations, but that is exactly the role forever conservation easements play.” She emphasized that "Rep. Hageman and Fedorchak’s Landowners Easement Rights Act limit the easements held by the Department of the Interior to 30 years. This is a vital step in making the property rights whole again and reducing the stranglehold the federal government has over landowners. It is not our right to tell future generations what they can and cannot do with their land."

Conservation easements allow landowners to use their property while foregoing development rights to meet conservation objectives and receive tax benefits. Many landowners enter such agreements unaware of potential restrictions on their property rights and future land development possibilities. Additionally, third parties managing the easements often align with government land management priorities, possibly neglecting the landowner’s interests. The result can be reduced local revenue and increased dependence on federal oversight.