Chester County is one of the most actively preserved regions in Pennsylvania. Decades of farmland and open space preservation, carried out through conservation easements, county and municipal programs, and the region’s land trusts, have shaped both the landscape and the legal questions that come with protecting it.
Kimberton Law provides legal counsel to the organizations and individuals who do that work: land trusts and conservation organizations, landowners considering an easement, and stewardship-focused businesses whose operations depend on well-managed land. We pair practical business and real estate counsel with a working understanding of how conservation functions on the ground.
In 2026, the East Pikeland Township Board of Supervisors appointed firm founder Elias Kohn to serve on the township’s Open Space Committee. In that role, he works alongside residents and township officials on the same open space and land preservation questions that land trusts and conservation-minded landowners bring to the firm. That firsthand involvement in local preservation informs how we approach conservation easements, farmland preservation programs, and long-term stewardship for clients across Chester County.
Conservation Easements
A conservation easement is a recorded, usually perpetual agreement that limits how land can be developed or used in order to protect its agricultural, scenic, ecological, or historic value, while leaving the land in private ownership. In Pennsylvania, these easements are governed largely by the Conservation and Preservation Easements Act (32 P.S. § 5051 et seq.), which sets out how they are created, held, and enforced.
We draft and review conservation easements and the due diligence behind them, including title review, mortgage subordination, mineral and water rights, and the baseline documentation that records a property’s condition when the easement is granted. The terms written into an easement govern the land for generations, so the drafting deserves the same care as the land it protects.
We also work with landowners, land trusts, and other clients before the legal drafting begins, helping them define what they want to protect and translate those goals into terms an easement can carry. The founder of the firm, Elias Kohn, draws on his experience in forestry, the environmental sector, and land management to raise the practical questions about habitat, timber, water, access, and future use that shape a durable agreement. The advantage for clients is a comprehensive picture: an informed understanding of how the land is managed, paired with careful legal counsel.
Counsel for Land Trusts and Conservation Organizations
Land trusts and conservation organizations operate both as nonprofits and as long-term stewards, and they face legal questions on both fronts. We assist with entity formation and 501(c)(3) matters, bylaws and board governance, policies that align with Land Trust Alliance standards, contracts and employment issues, and the real estate work involved in acquiring land and accepting easements.
We also advise on the stewardship obligations that follow once an easement is recorded, from monitoring and recordkeeping to responding to potential violations, so that an organization can defend the commitments it has taken on.
Landowners Considering a Conservation Easement
For a landowner, placing land under a conservation easement is a significant and lasting decision, with legal, financial, and estate-planning dimensions. We counsel landowners who are considering donating or selling an easement, help them understand what the easement will and will not restrict, and coordinate the transaction with their other advisers.
Conservation can also carry meaningful tax consequences. A donated easement may qualify for a federal charitable income tax deduction, and preserved land interacts with Pennsylvania’s Clean and Green (Act 319) assessment program and with estate planning. We help landowners weigh these considerations as part of the larger decision.
We also work with landowners and land trusts exploring voluntary carbon markets as a way to create additional financial mechanisms for land conservation. Revenue from forest carbon projects can help fund easement purchases, land acquisition, and long-term stewardship, but it also raises legal questions that are best addressed early: who holds the carbon rights, how credit proceeds are shared between a landowner and an easement holder, and whether an easement’s terms permit, restrict, or align with an offset project’s long-term commitments. We help clients evaluate these opportunities, review project agreements, and structure easements so that carbon finance supports, rather than complicates, their conservation goals.
Farmland Preservation and Agricultural Easements
Chester County has long been a leader in farmland preservation, and the county, its municipalities, and local land trusts all run programs that purchase or accept agricultural conservation easements. We help farm owners work through these programs, from eligibility and application to the easement terms and closing.
Agricultural preservation also intersects with Clean and Green. Enrolling land in an agricultural conservation easement is treated as an exception to Act 319 rollback taxes, but the timing and structure of a preservation transaction still carry tax consequences, and we plan transactions with those in view.
Easement Stewardship, Amendments, and Disputes
A conservation easement sometimes requires actual enforcement. Questions arise over time about permitted uses, boundary and access issues, proposed amendments, and, on occasion, violations by a current owner or a neighbor. We advise both the organizations that hold easements and the landowners bound by them on interpretation, amendment, and resolution.
Because the firm maintains both a transactional and a litigation practice, we can address these matters through negotiation where possible and through the courts where necessary.
A Local Commitment to Open Space
Kimberton Law’s conservation work reflects the principles of stewardship and community that run through the firm, along with a personal commitment to the region’s land. The East Pikeland Township Board of Supervisors appointed firm founder Elias Kohn to the township’s Open Space Committee, where he contributes to local open space and land preservation efforts in Chester County.
Before practicing law, Mr. Kohn earned a master’s degree in environmental management from the Yale School of the Environment and worked in land and resource management. That background adds perspective when a legal question involves not only an organization or a transaction, but the land and natural resources at the center of it.
Legal Counsel for Conservation in Chester County and Beyond
Whether you are a land trust accepting an easement, a landowner weighing whether to preserve your property, or a business whose work depends on the stewardship of land, we can help you navigate the legal side of conservation. Contact Kimberton Law to discuss your conservation, land trust, or land preservation needs.
