For Landowners

Englund, Gregory J. Beyond Death & Taxes. 1995, second edition. Published by and available from Estate Planning Press, PO Box 97, Boston, MA 02101. An excellent, readable review of estate tax planning options.

Report on 1985 National Survey of Government and Nonprofit Easement Programs. Available at no charge from the Land Trust Alliance. A national perspective on the successes and public benefits of conservation restrictions.

Small, Stephen J. Preserving Family Lands: A Landowner's Introduction to Tax Issues and Other Considerations. 1990, second edition. Available from the Land Trust Alliance. A popular, highly readable introduction, emphasizing estate planning issues and estate tax incentives for private conservation.

Small, Stephen J. Preserving Family Lands Book II: More Planning Strategies for the Future. 1997. Picking up where Preserving Family Lands left off, this publication takes the planning process a step further. It describes what every landowner should know about succession planning for family lands including estate and gift tax rules, basic rules about partnerships and trusts, and which charitable trust vehicles work best in different types of situations.

Stokes, Samuel N. with Elizabeth A. Watson and Shelley S. Mastran. Saving America's Countryside: A Guide to Rural Conservation. Second Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. An attractive, comprehensive survey, sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Conservation Options: A Landowner's Guide. 1993.
Land Trust Alliance. A clear, highly readable introduction.

For Land Conservation Organizations

Appraising Easements: Guidelines for Valuation of Historic Preservation and Land Conservation Easements. National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Land Trust Exchange, 1990 (Second Edition). Available from the Land Trust Alliance. Prepared by an easement valuation panel of appraisers and attorneys from around the country. A basic guide to the state of the art, favorably cited in recent court decisions.

Dawson, Alexandra D. and Sally A. Zielinski. Environmental Handbook for Massachusetts Conservation Commissioners. Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissioners, Inc., 10 Juniper Road, Belmont, MA 02178, 1997 (8th ed.). Includes a useful discussion of conservation and preservation restrictions as used in Massachusetts, and their tax treatment by local assessors.

Diehl, Janet and Thomas S. Barrett. The Conservation Easement Handbook: Managing Land Conservation and Historic Easement Programs. 1988, and, Thomas Barrett and Stefan Nagel. Model Conservation Easement and Historic Preservation Easement, 1996. Available from and published by the Land Trust Alliance. Thorough commentary and updated comprehensive model easements.

Exchange: The Journal of the Land Trust Alliance. Quarterly, subscription price $35. Resource for anyone interested in private land conservation efforts.

Lind, Brenda. The Conservation Easement Stewardship Guide: Designing, Monitoring, and Enforcing Easements. 1991. Published by and available from the Land Trust Alliance. A step-by-step handbook to help conservation easement holders design and implement effective stewardship programs.

The Massachusetts Conservation Restriction Handbook. 1992. Published by and available from the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services. Describes the process for obtaining approval by the Secretary of Environmental Affairs as well as guidelines for drafting conservation restrictions.

Small, Stephen J. The Federal Tax Law of Conservation Easements. 1990. Available from the Land Trust Alliance. By a former Internal Revenue Service attorney who drafted the regulations on conservation restrictions. Unique in its field and highly recommended.

Starting a Land Trust: A Guide to Forming a Land Conservation Organization. 1990. Land Trust Alliance. An essential guide that covers all of the basic information you need to begin to organize a land trust.

The Back Forty. A bimonthly publication covering developments in real estate, land use, taxation, and exempt organization law that affects conservation and preservation efforts. Published by the Hyperion Society, 200 McAllister Street, San Francisco CA 94102.

Tax Planning for Family Lands. Handbook 89-508, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. 20 West Street, Boston MA 02111. Compiled in 1989, this handbook includes legal outlines and background material for a day-long seminar organized by Stephen J. Small. Also includes a valuable, well-researched summary of the Massachusetts law of conservation restrictions and deed restrictions by Sanford Matathia, Esq. of Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster, Boston, MA.