Section 35-18-2

Easement conveyed, recorded, assigned, etc.; term of easement; interest maintained; condemnation.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a conservation easement may be created, conveyed, recorded, assigned, released, modified, terminated, or otherwise altered or affected in the same manner as other easements. A conservation easement may not be created or expanded under this chapter by any state, county, or local governmental body through the exercise of the power of eminent domain.

(b) No right or duty in favor of or against a holder and no right in favor of a person having a third-party right of enforcement arises under a conservation easement before its acceptance by the holder and a recordation of the acceptance.

(c) Except as provided in subsection (b) of Section 35-18-3, the term of a conservation easement shall be the term stated in the instrument creating the easement or, if no term is stated, the lesser of 30 years or the life of the grantor, or upon the sale of the property by the grantor.

(d) An interest in real property in existence at the time a conservation easement is created, including, but not limited to, any subsurface property interests or leases and any related rights of owners or leaseholders to remove or extract minerals or any mortgages, deeds of trust, security interests, or other liens, shall not be impaired or diminished in any way by a conservation easement unless all owners of the interests are parties to the conservation easement or consent to it and the consent is properly recorded. A conservation easement shall not be construed to impair or diminish in any way interests in adjacent or surrounding properties.

(e) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impair or diminish in any way the rights of any person, entity, or governmental body authorized by the laws of this state or under federal law to acquire property interests through the exercise of eminent domain or condemnation. A conservation easement may be condemned or appropriated through eminent domain in the same manner as any other property interest.

(Acts 1997, No. 97-715, §2.)