More people, pricier land, and a shrinking supply of open space are enough to make a growing number of Northwest property owners sign contracts called "conservation easements."
Conservation easements are voluntary, binding agreements that prevent current and future owners from carving up or building on a piece of land.
Chris DeForest, of the Inland Northwest Land Trust, recently inked an agreement with a North Idaho woman who was alarmed by how quickly new homes were sprouting up all over.
Chris Deforest: "And she said, 'I just don't want that to happen here. This is my land, I want to keep it the way it is.' And now part of the backdrop to Sandpoint as you cross the Long Bridge is 188 acres that's protected from unwanted development.
In Idaho, growth in the number of land trusts is outpacing both Washington and Oregon. That's partly because a lot of the private land is owned by older people who stand to benefit from the control and the tax breaks that come with conservation easements.
A federal tax incentive that sweetened the deal is set to expire at the end of 2007.Oregon Public Broadcasting
