SUMMARY
The Conservation and Historic Preservation Easement Act (MCL 324.2140 - 2144), by recognizing the validity of Conservation and Historic Preservation Easements, allows property owners to limit the use of, or to prohibit or require certain actions with respect to, their land or a body of water. The Easements are considered an interest in land and may be in the form of a restriction, a covenant, an easement, a condition in a deed, or even an order of taking by government. Such interests in land in a Conservation Easement must be appropriate for retaining or maintaining the land predominantly in its natural, scenic, or open condition, or in an agricultural, farming, open space, or forest use or similar use or condition. The Historic Preservation Easement allows restrictions on the use of a structure or site that is on land listed under certain identified federal, state or local historic preservation laws, if the interest is appropriate to the preservation or restoration of the structure or site.
Under the law, when the easement is granted to various entities, such as a governmental unit or charitable or educational association, such as a land conservancy, its limitations, requirements or prohibitions are enforceable against the property owner. The easements must be recorded, in compliance with state recording laws, with the register of deeds in the county in which the land is located in order to be effective against a subsequent buyer of the land.
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