Our firm has a national and statewide reputation for expertise and innovation in the field of conservation and historic preservation law. We counsel private landowners, nonprofit land trust organizations, and municipalities in all aspects of natural resource and open space protection; farmland and historic preservation; tax aspects of qualified conservation contributions; drafting and enforcement of conservation easements; complex land acquisitions; negotiation and coordination of federal, state, and local funding arrangements; planning and implementation of land stewardship programs; and evaluation of public policy initiatives.
We help families plan for the preservation of their lands, both to effect permanent protection and to avoid forced sale to pay estate and inheritance taxes. We assist property owners in the sale of development rights under the New Jersey Farmland Preservation Program, including analysis of potential tax benefits associated with such transactions. We have developed innovative solutions for public funding of open space transactions, and have contributed our experience and expertise to such widely used resources as The Conservation Easement Handbook, a publication of the Land Trust Alliance. We frequently advise our clients with respect to matters involving the New Jersey Green Acres Program, local open space trust funds, and various federal funding programs and help to devise creative ways to accommodate their sometimes conflicting requirements.
In addition to transaction specific work, we advise land trusts and other nonprofit organizations with respect to corporate issues, tax, and operational concerns unique to public charities and private foundations.
