Peter and Daun Hauspurg donated a conservation easement on 26 acres in 2001, on property they owned on Croton Lake Road, an area of Bedford where Westchester Land Trust has protected 171 acres. We asked him to talk about why he and Daun decided to donate a conservation easement, how the process went, and what the rewards were.

Peter Hauspurg: “It was not a hard decision to permanently give up our development rights. We were motivated by two things: We were struck by the beauty of the land, and knew that some future owner might actually add two houses and ruin the place; now the property will be preserved in its natural state forever.

The second factor was the tax deal. The tax savings didn’t affect our decision to buy the property, but we went so far over our budget for building the main house that the tax refund was a welcome relief!

The process was smooth and the Westchester Land Trust staff was wonderful to work with. I needed an appraiser, an engineer and a lawyer, and the appraisal and engineering process took longer than I originally anticipated.

I would say that unless the future sale of your development rights is critical to your family’s finances, take a step to do something for the community you presumably love because you chose to settle there.

When you put an easement on, you are giving a gift to the community at large, and certainly to the immediate neighborhood. It is one of the few things we can do that will outlast our stay on this planet.”

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