The Landowner Easement Rights Act limits how long the federal government can lock in conservation easements on private land. Going forward, the Interior Department cannot create new conservation easements lasting longer than 30 years. The bill also gives landowners with existing long-term easements (those over 30 years old or created before 1977 without official maps) the right to renegotiate the terms, either by shortening the easement to 30 years with additional compensation from the government, or by buying back the easement at fair market value. The Interior Department must notify affected landowners of these rights within specified timeframes—either one year or three months before an easement becomes eligible, depending on its age. This legislation primarily affects private landowners with conservation easements and shifts control of land-use restrictions from perpetual federal agreements toward time-limited arrangements that landowners can modify.
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