There are many ways to conserve land. Some of the common preservation techniques are defined below. Local examples are also provided whenever possible.

Outright donation: The gift of all interest in a property to another party.

Example: Jane Koven donated 30 acres along Dickson's Mill Road to the Harding Land Trust in 1992. The property consists of wooded uplands, trails, and wetlands along Pine Brook.

Donation of easement: The gift of a partial interest in a property to another party. Typically, a landowner gives up his or her development rights but continues to live on a property. In the interest of conservation, the landowner may also choose to give up the right to cut trees, erect buildings or disturb the soil.

Examples: In 1995, Helen D'Olier Stowell donated a conservation easement on 13 acres near Primrose Brook to New Jersey Conservation Foundation. The property encompasses a pond, a mature forest, walking trails, vernal pools, rolling hills and steep slopes.

Harding Land Trust holds three adjacent easements in the Primrose Brook watershed. The easements, donated by the Friggerio family, safeguard 14 acres, including a wooded hillside, an upland field and an extensive riparian corridor.

Bargain sale: Purchase of land or development rights below the appraised market value. The difference between the sale price and market value is usually considered to be a charitable donation, and thus eligible for an income-tax deduction.

Examples: Wishing to see their land become part of Schooley's Mountain Park, the Brekke family of Washington Township sold 7 acres to Morris County at a $21,000 discount.

In 1995, Probst Enterprises sold to New Jersey Conservation Foundation 3000 acres in the Forked River Mountains of Ocean County. This wilderness area contains dozens of threatened and endangered species. The sale price was $1 million, half of the appraised value of the land (land is much cheaper in the Pine Barrens than in Morris and Somerset counties).

Full market value sale: Purchase of land by a nonprofit or government agency at the market rate.

Example: In 1997, the Township of Mendham purchased 52 acres at the headwaters of the Passaic River from Tatiana Nagro. The municipality used Green Acres grant and loan money and a contribution from a private donor to obtain the land and establish the Tempe Wick Reserve. Mendham was assisted in the deal by New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

Installment sale: The purchase of a property in increments.

Life estate: The transfer of ownership of a property with the stipulation that the current landowner can live in the house and use the grounds until his or her death.

Example: In 1977, Dr. Cyril and Maria Amalia dos Passos donated their 91-acre estate to New Jersey Conservation Foundation. They retained a life estate for themselves on two five-acre house lots. Mendham Township used Green Acres funding to purchase 75 acres of the remaining property as an addition to the Dismal-Harmony Reserve.

Bequest: A device in a will that transfers a property to a named recipient.

Example: Whippany Farm was bequeathed by Mathilda Frelinghuysen to the people of Morris County in 1969. It is now the Frelinghuysen Arboretum.

Conservation buyer: A conservation-minded individual willing to purchase a secluded or scenic natural area. The land of interest may or may not already be subject to restrictions. If not, the buyer might purchase the property and then convey a conservation easement, or sell the most environmentally sensitive or historically significant land, to a nonprofit or government agency.

Example: Gladys and Sterling North's children owed considerable estate taxes but wanted to honor the wishes of their parents and have the family property become part of Morristown National Historical Park. A conservation buyer, Judy Davies, stepped in and purchased the land, which lies along Primrose Brook. She then sold 13 of the 26 acres to the National Park Service. The Trust for Public Land assisted in the arrangement.

Mutual covenant: The exchange of written pacts between or among neighbors.

Example: Large estate owners in Harding Township signed the "New Vernon Restrictive Agreement" in 1928, voluntarily limiting the uses to which they could put their land.

Management agreement: A contract with a land trust or watershed association by which a landowner promises to carry out prescribed management practices. Management agreements are a good short-term option for protecting endangered species, critical habitat, or unusual geologic features.

Registry: A listing of sites with significant natural resource value. Registry sponsors may make recommendations for property management but landowner participation and compliance are voluntary.

Examples: Arizona maintains a Register of Critical Areas that lists sites significant to the state's natural heritage. The Virginia Native Plant Society maintains a registry designed to protect exemplary plant species and communities.

Limited development: A strategy that allows for building on a small number of lots while preserving the remainder of a property. A limited development may work well for a large estate or rural property as long as protection goals are not sacrificed.

Example: A conservation easement held by New Jersey Audubon Society protects 24 acres of mature oak-beech woodland, known as Remington Forest, on the former Hartley Farms estate in Harding. The remainder of the estate was subdivided.

Like-kind exchange: Trade of land with conservation value for a parcel more suitable for development.

Example: David and Nellie Fogg traded the development rights on their 200-acre farm on Lower Alloways Creek in Salem County for a 40-acre tract of prime farmland in Quinton Township. This allowed the Foggs to defer capital gains taxes.

Lease: Rental of a property to a farmer or commercial tenant often following the restriction of its deed or purchase of the land by a conservation group. This option works well for properties with a building that could be used for a conference center, bed & breakfast, boathouse or clubhouse.

Restricted auction: Placement of limits on the future use of a property to open space or farmland followed by its sale to the highest bidder.

Example: New Jersey's Farmland Preservation Program sponsors periodic auctions of deed-restricted farms.

Right of first refusal: A commitment to allow a land trust or other specified organization to match any bona fide offer of purchase that a landowner receives. The land trust is not obligated to buy the property.