In 2017, nearly 90-year-old Don Doll protected his 186-acre Michigan farm forever so his six children would not split the land he shared with his late wife

Don Doll was almost 90 years old when he secured permanent protection for his 186-acre Michigan farm in 2017 because he was worried that his six children might have to divide the property after his death. Doll and his late wife, Therese, had raised all six children on the land, which had remained in the same family for more than 150 years, and had owned the property since 1962, according to Legacy Land Conservancy’s account of the farm’s protection. It sits off Heim Road near Chelsea in Washtenaw County and includes rolling fields, woodland, and wetlands.“I kept thinking the farm was going to get split up if it went to six kids,” Doll said in the account. “And it would have to be all six; I don’t play favorites.” He decided after learning about conservation easements that the arrangement provided a way to protect the farm without having to choose which child might receive which part.The agreement restricts future developmentThe farm was protected through Washtenaw County’s Natural Areas Preservation Program, and Legacy Land Conservancy provided support during negotiations and completion of the easement. A conservation easement places legally binding restrictions on how land can be developed, and the landowner retains ownership but gives up certain development rights under the agreement. Michigan’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development explains that agricultural conservation easements can restrict subdivision and non-agricultural development permanently while keeping land in private ownership.The arrangement addressed a specific concern about inheritance, since passing a farm to six children could have divided the property into smaller parcels, and the easement protects the land against development covered by its terms, regardless of who owns it in the future. The property does not automatically become public, and Michigan’s guidance states that a conservation easement does not, by itself, require public access since owners can continue using their land within the restrictions that are set out in the agreement.The county programme keeps farmland in private handsWashtenaw County’s Natural Areas Preservation Program buys conservation easements so that they can restrict development without requiring landowners to sell their property, and the programme considers agricultural soil quality, development pressure and links to existing protected land, according to Legacy Land Conservancy. The agreement made sure that Don Doll's 186-acre farm remained privately owned while limiting future development, and Legacy Land Conservancy helped facilitate the protection through its work with the county’s parks and recreation commission. Michigan also has a state-level framework for agricultural conservation easements that restrict non-farm development and also allow private ownership to continue.The farm connects to other protected landThe Doll property had an impressive location and agricultural value, and Legacy Land Conservancy reported that the farm had high-quality soil, faced development pressure, and adjoined other protected land, with its easement connecting two existing conservation easements. The farm also lies about a quarter-mile from more than 400 additional acres of contiguous protected land, including Goose Lake State Game Area and Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission’s Koenn Preserve, according to the conservancy’s 2017 account.The US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service describes its Agricultural Conservation Easement Program as a source of financial and technical assistance for eligible partners who are working to conserve agricultural land and wetlands, and the programme’s agricultural land easements limit non-agricultural uses while keeping farms in production. Legacy’s account does not identify the exact division of funding for Doll’s easement or provide a detailed schedule of restrictions for the property, but it does state that Washtenaw County’s programme purchased the farmland conservation easement and that Legacy helped negotiate and complete it. Doll was still active on the farm when the protection was announced in 2017, and at nearly 90, he said that he wanted the property to stay exactly the way it was. The agreement put permanent development restrictions in place while keeping the farm in private hands.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.