Editing Conservation easement (section)

==Purchase of conservation easements==
Many conservation easements are purchased with funds from federal, state, and local governments, nonprofit organizations, or private donors. In these cases, landowners are paid directly for the purchase of the conservation easement.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Olmsted|first1=James|title=Conservation Easements: New Perspectives in an Evolving World|journal=Law and Contemporary Problems|date=Fall 2011|volume=74|issue=4}}</ref>

The [[Farm Bill]], updated every five or more years, provides an important source of funds for conservation easement purchase. The 2014 Farm Bill created the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) by consolidating the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program, the Grassland Reserve Program, and the Wetlands Reserve Program. Under ACEP, the [[Natural Resources Conservation Service]] helps tribes, state and local governments, and land trusts protect agriculture from development and other non-agricultural uses. ACEP includes Agricultural Land Easements and Wetland Reserve Easements.<ref>{{cite web|title=Farm Bill|url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/farmbill/|website=United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref> Agricultural land easements preserve land for food production and aids in soil and [[water conservation]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program|url=https://conservationtools.org/guides/47-agricultural-conservation-easement-purchase-program|website=Conservation Tools|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref> Wetland reserve easements aim to restore wetland areas that have been converted into agricultural land. To maximize the benefits, the program targets land that has both a high chance of restoration success and a history of low crop yields or crop failure. The Farm Bill also funds the purchase of conservation easements for forestland.<ref>{{cite web|title=Farm Bill|url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/farmbill/|website=United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref> The [[Forest Legacy Program]] is a voluntary Federal program in partnership with States which protects privately owned forest lands. Landowners are required to prepare a multiple resource management plan as part of the conservation easement acquisition.<ref>{{cite web|title=Managing the Land|url=https://www.fs.fed.us/managing-land|website=US Forest Service|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>

The majority of states have direct funding sources for conservation. Commonly used funding sources include real estate transfer tax, legislative bonds, and lottery proceeds. For instance, in 2014, New Jersey added conservation funding from corporate business taxes through constitutional amendment, approved by 65% of voters.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tracking Investments in Protected Lands|url=http://www.conservationalmanac.org/secure/|website=Conservation Almanac|access-date=25 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413202828/http://www.conservationalmanac.org/secure/|archive-date=13 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many states and counties have programs for the purchase of agricultural conservation easements (PACE) to protect productive farmland from non-agricultural development. In 1974, [[Suffolk County, New York|Suffolk County]] in New York enacted the first PACE (also known as purchase of development rights or PDR) program. King County in Washington and the states of Maryland, Massachusetts, and Connecticut quickly followed suit. As of 2016, the PACE program operates in 32 states through both state and local programs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tracking Investments in Protected Lands|url=http://www.conservationalmanac.org/secure/|website=Conservation Almanac|access-date=25 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413202828/http://www.conservationalmanac.org/secure/|archive-date=13 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>