Conservation real estate combines the marketplace with traditional land protection techniques such as conservation easements to permanently protect natural resources such as rare plant and wildlife habitat, farmland, and scenic vistas.

In conservation real estate transactions, land trusts turn to 'conservation buyers' and 'conservation sellers' to assist them with land protection projects. Often, because of limited conservation funding, the land preserved in these transactions would otherwise be lost to inappropriate development.

In this way, private dollars help save environmentally important land, while providing satisfaction and, in many cases, tax benefits to sellers and buyers arising from the charitable donation component of the transaction.

Conservation Buyers
Conservation buyers are individuals who are willing to buy desirable and ecologically important properties which are under a conservation easement or other legal protection, or are willing to incorporate permanent protection of the land into their property purchase. This is done through a post-sale donation (or below-market sale) to the land trust of an easement or of a portion of the property.

Conservation Sellers
Conservation sellers are landowners who seek to ensure protection of the special attributes of land they own before or during its transfer to another private owner. They may donate to the land trust a conservation easement or a portion of the land, or sell them at a below-market price. This can be done prior to or during sale of the property to the new owner.