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119-hr-2773119th CongressWALLET

Landowner Easement Rights Act

Sponsored By: Representative Hageman, Harriet M. [R-WY-At Large]

Introduced

Summary

This bill would impose a __30-year cap on conservation easements__ and give landowners a clear path to renegotiate or buy back older federal easements. It would require the Secretary of the Interior to provide detailed maps and fair market value estimates and to meet set deadlines for renegotiation requests.

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  • Landowners: Owners with eligible easements — those in effect more than 30 years or set before 1977 without an official map — could request renegotiation. The Secretary must provide a map and a fair market value (FMV) estimate and then either shorten the term to no more than 30 years or pay the owner FMV minus prior payments, adjusted for inflation, or allow the owner to buy back all or part of the easement at FMV.
  • Federal land management: After enactment the Secretary would not be able to create conservation easements longer than 30 years and must respond to renegotiation requests within six months.
  • Conservation practice: The bill shifts federal policy away from perpetual or very long easements toward time-limited protections, changing how long land stays under federal conservation restrictions.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.

Landowners could renegotiate or buy back easements

If enacted, some landowners could renegotiate or buy back an eligible federal conservation easement. You could ask the Secretary of the Interior to cut the term to no more than 30 years. After you ask, the Secretary would send a detailed map and the current fair market value within 6 months. In a renegotiation, the government would pay you the fair market value minus what it already paid for the easement, adjusted for inflation. Or you could buy back all or part at fair market value, as determined by the Secretary. The Secretary would notify you 3 months before a 30-year easement becomes eligible and 1 year ahead for certain pre-1977 easements without an official map.

Future federal easements capped at 30 years

For new federal conservation easements signed after enactment, the term would be capped at 30 years. The Secretary would not be allowed to enter a new easement longer than 30 years. This would only apply to future easements created after the bill becomes law.

Which easements would count as eligible

This bill would define which federal conservation easements are covered. A conservation easement would mean a voluntary deal with the Secretary that limits land use to protect conservation values. It would exclude agreements with Indian Tribes and utility-related deals. An easement would count as eligible if it has lasted more than 30 years, or if it began before 1977 and has no official map. These definitions would take effect upon enactment.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Hageman, Harriet M. [R-WY-At Large]

WY • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Fedorchak, Julie [R-ND-At Large]

    ND • R

    Sponsored 4/9/2025

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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