About Concord Land Conservation Trust

The Concord Land Conservation Trust is a private, non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization devoted to the preservation of open land in the Town of Concord. Founded in 1959, The Land Trust is overseen by a board of trustees and has approximately 550 member families. Since its inception, the Land Trust has acquired through gift or purchase just under 1,000 acres and holds conservation restrictions on an additional 350+ acres. All of this land will be protected from development and remain in its natural state forever; once a property is acquired by the Land Trust, it is never relinquished. An affiliate, the Concord Open Land Foundation (COLF), was founded in 1988 to engage in conservation transactions where the land acquired, or a portion of it, may be subsequently sold or swapped.

The Land Trust protects land through gifts or purchases of land and conservation restrictions. A conservation restriction is a recorded legal agreement that restricts or eliminates the owner’s ability to develop the land. For more information on conservation restrictions, please navigate to “Conserve your Land” under “Ways to Give.”

Gifts of land to the Land Trust are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes and can lower federal estate taxes by removing property from the estate. The Land Trust also purchases land, generally by raising funds through contributions. A property owner who sells property to the Land Trust or COLF at less than its fair market value (a “bargain sale”) may receive an income tax deduction equal to the difference between the fair market value and the sale price.

Board Members Joan Ferguson and John Bemis at the 2016 Annual Meeting.