Little Boy and Wabedo Lakes Property Owners are Eligible for Conservation Easement Grants

      Cass County Environmental Services Department, in collaboration with the Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation, has received a legislative appropriation of $300,000 from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund to provide financial assistance to shoreland property owners of sensitive shoreland who are willing to donate a perpetual conservation easement on their property.  Little Boy and Wabedo Lakes are among the 18 Cass County lakes identified through the DNR Sensitive Shoreland study as a high priority for the project. Sensitive shorelands are areas of unique ecological significance for fish and wildlife habitat.  (see the Sustainability Tab for a map of the Sensitive Shorelands on Little Boy and Wabedo Lakes).

     A conservation easement is a legal restriction on a property that permanently limits development in order to protect natural resources.  The project will fund the closing costs on 12-15 donated easements, with priority given to properties that are largely undeveloped and fall within designated sensitive shoreland areas.   By limiting development, water quality and important fish and wildlife habitat is protected. When the landowner donates an permanent easement to their property they retain ownership and use of the property while the development rights are held by a qualified entity, which will be either Cass County or the Minnesota Land Trust per the landowner’s preference.  If the property is sold or inherited, the easement passes on to the future owners to insure permanent protection of the resources. If desired, the landowner can set aside future building sites or uses in the easement. 

     The project grants will provide a willing landowner with financial incentive (approximately $15,000 per easement) to put in the easement in place. This would cover costs for appraisals, land surveys, legal reviews, documentation of conservation values, and other associated costs.   Conservation easements usually qualify for an IRS charitable deduction. Property taxes will not necessarily be reduced by placing an easement on the property. Every easement is individually tailored to the landowner’s conservation interests.

    For more information on participating, contact John Sumption, land conservation specialist with the Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation, at: (218) 363-2942 or sumptionenv@gmail.com.  Or, contact Cass County Environmental Services at: 218-547-7256.