Conservation Easement Information

Conservation Easement
for B. A. Bingham & Sons, LLC

This page shares the latest updates on the Conservation Easement for the Chalk Creek property owned by B. A. Bingham & Sons, LLC. It is based on two Google documents which will be updated as progress continues.

What is a Conservation Easement?

A conservation easement is a voluntary, legally binding agreement between a landowner and a qualified organization (such as a land trust or government agency) to restrict certain types of development or land use in order to protect conservation values, such as:

  • Agricultural productivity
  • Wildlife habitat
  • Natural resources

Key Features:

  • The landowner retains ownership of the land.
  • Uses like livestock grazing, hunting, fishing, and camping can continue.
  • Each easement is customized to fit the land and the owner's goals.
  • The agreement runs with the land, meaning future owners are also bound by its terms.
  • The easement can only be modified in rare, limited cases.

Why it Fits Chalk Creek:

For B.A. Bingham & Sons, LLC, whose main interest is maintaining the property as grazing pasture for livestock while also enjoying hunting and recreational use, a conservation easement offers the perfect balance. It allows the land to stay productive and protected from unwanted development — both now and for future generations.

The Rocky Mtn. Elk Foundation (RMEF) and Nature Conservancy are the sponsors for the conservation easement for B.A. Bingham & Sons, LLC.

Approval Process:

In Utah, all conservation easements are reviewed and selected by:

  • Forest Legacy, a division of the National Forestry Service
  • Once approved at the state level, applications are submitted for national approval
    • Timeline - due dates for applications
      • October 2025: pre-application
      • February 2026: full state application
        • Committee will review and let us know by May 2026 if it will move on to the next level
      • September 2026: federal application

Written by RuthAnn Hiatt
Last updated: 7-17-2025

"Conservation Easements." Utah Agricultural Land Trust, 2023, https://utahaglandtrust.org/conservation-easements/. Accessed 15 May 2025.

"How To Add/Remove Conservation Easement From Your Property." Schorr Law, 21 August 2024, https://schorr-law.com/add-remove-conservation-easement-from-property/#:~:text=Most%20conservation%20easements%20are%20intended,is%20a%20compelling%20public%20interest. Accessed 15 May 2025.

"Conservation easements: A tool for preserving wildlife habitat on private lands." Wildlife Society Bulletin, 3 January 2023, https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wsb.1415#:~:text=A%20land%20trust%20may%20partner,between%20conservation%20lands%20(Kiesecker%20et. Accessed 15 July 2025.

"Forest Legacy." Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands, https://ffsl.utah.gov/forestry/private-landowner-forestry-assistance/forest-legacy/. Accessed 14 July 2025.

"What is a conservation easement?" Heber City, 2020, https://heberut.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1308/Exhibit-B_What_is_a_conservation_easement#:~:text=Conservation%20Easement%20Basics:&text=The%20LANDOWNER%20continues%20to%20OWN%20the%20land.&text=The%20LANDOWNER%20decides%20what%20restrictions%20will%20be%20placed%20on%20the%20property.&text=The%20conservation%20easement%20remains%20with,be%20removed%20by%20subsequent%20owners.&text=Conservation%20easements%20may%20be%20amended,in%20some%20very%20limited%20circumstances.&text=The%20land%20may%20be%20sold,the%20easement%20remains%20in%20place. Accessed 15 May 2025.

Conservation Easement

Steps and Current Status for B.A. Bingham & Sons, LLC

  1. Step 1: Identify a Conservation Partner
  2. Step 2: Conduct a Property Assessment
  3. Step 3: Define Conservation Goals and Draft Easement Terms
  4. Step 4: Submit Application
  5. Step 5: Make improvements on application for following year submission
  6. Step 6: Finalize and Record the Successful Easement
  7. Step 7: Ongoing Monitoring and Stewardship

 Step 1: Identify a Conservation Partner

  1. Requirements:
    1. Identify a potential easement holder or facilitator.
    2. Send in preliminary application
  2. Current Status:

Forest Legacy is the agency responsible for submitting conservation easement applications in the state of Utah to the national level for final approval. In 2023, the Rocky Mtn. Elk Foundation (RMEF) was assigned a sponsor, along with Nature Conservancy as co-sponsor to B.A. Bingham & Sons, LLC. The sponsor and co-sponsor act as facilitators during the application preparation phase. Here is a document, explaining what the scoring table is for Forest Legacy applications, along with their cover letter, which gives a summary of their objectives. For a real page turner, here is a full 167 pages, explaining Forest Legacy's program.

 Step 2: Conduct a Property Assessment

  1. Requirements:
    1. Work with the conservation partner to evaluate the property's conservation values (e.g., wildlife habitat, agricultural productivity, water resources).
    2. A site visit, mapping, and documentation of current land use and features will occur.
    3. This assessment will help determine what restrictions and allowances will be included in the easement.
  2. Current Status:

In 2023, the following congregated at Chalk Creek: Manager Tom Bingham, Committee member Marlon Bingham, Manager Mark Bingham, Nature Conservancy Representative Kara Butterfield, U.S. Forest Service Representative P.J. Abraham, and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) Representative Aaron Swift. This meeting was to present the land as a potential case for the conservation easement. All parties agreed the property is a strong candidate for a conservation easement.

Notable Conservation Attributes:

  1. Chalk Creek is a headwater of the Weber River watershed, which provides drinking water to the Wasatch Front.
  2. Habitat protection for several species, including:
    1. Bald Eagle (winter roosting)
    2. Peregrine Falcon
    3. Northern Goshawk
    4. Greater Sage Grouse
    5. Bonneville Cutthroat Trout
  3. Key winter range and calving area for mule deer, elk, and moose
  4. Working forest provides timber, firewood, and forage for livestock
  5. Beaver population contributes to natural erosion control

 Step 3: Define Conservation Goals and Draft Easement Terms

  1. Requirements:
    1. Collaborate with Easement holders to tailor the easement to the property's conservation and agricultural values.
    2. Establish uses and provisions
  2. Current Status:
    1. January 2024 application is available here
      1. Estimated value of the land: $17,348,000 or $2,000/acre (pg.4). Values were estimated by reviewing comparable sales in Summit County. Forest Legacy will pay up to 75% of the appraised land value.
    2. The established uses and provisions with the Rocky Mtn. Elk Foundation RMEF and The Nature Conservancy:
      1. Easement terms are under development with RMEF and The Nature Conservancy.

 Step 4: Submit Application

  1. Requirements:
    1. Submit Application
      1. 1-1-24 application was submitted
  2. Current Status:

    March 2024: Application was rejected by the Forestry Legacy, with the following suggested as area of improvement to make the application stronger (see scoring table here):

    1. Timber Management
    2. Letter of Intent from B.A. Bingham & Sons, LLC, with signature from all shareholders in the LLC
    3. Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit (CWMU) or public access
    4. Mineral controlling interest needs clearance

 Step 5: Make improvements on application for following year submission

See email here, with specific suggestions from Forest Legacy for future submission.

  1. Timber Management
    1. Action: 2023, manager Boyd Bingham, committee member Marlon Bingham and manager Mark Bingham met with the U.S. Forest Service representative to begin a timber management plan. Due to the mineral interest needing clearance, this plan was put on hold. Below in step 5.4, it explains the clearance that came in June of 2025. Due to this clearance, this project was picked back up and is being overseen by Ryan Bingham (Albert's grandson), with manager Mark Bingham, coordinating timber management with the U.S. Forestry.
  2. Letter of Intent from B.A. Bingham & Sons, LLC, indicating approval from all shareholders in the LLC
    1. Action: As of August 2025: David Stacey, along with manager Mark Bingham, are working on this, to improve the letter to align with the requirements.
  3. Public access
    1. Forest Legacy has emphasized that public access is a significant scoring factor for conservation easement applications to increase the score with the public access requirement.
      1. Hunting: While allowing non-family hunters is a step in the right direction, Forest Legacy suggested public hunting pass options with the Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit (CWMU) will help increase the public access score on the application. August 2025, Ryan Bingham (grandson of Albert Bingham) sent ideas on possible public hunting pass(es) options with the (CWMU). The lead representative at Forest Legacy will get back to us, indicating what these options will do for the public access score.
      2. Forest Legacy also mentioned other options, such as a separate contracted company offering guided tours to the public. With this idea, Rodney & Tanner Bingham and RuthAnn Hiatt (Albert Bingham family) brainstormed more ideas. Here are their ideas, to be discussed by those that will stay in the LLC:
        1. Firewood Cutting Access - allow the public to come and cut their own firewood
        2. Access for photography/photoshoots
        3. Snowshoeing
        4. Cross country skiing
        5. Trapping
        6. Fishing
        7. Horseback riding
        8. Hiking/Mountain biking trail
    2. Water - how it increases the public access score
      1. Quote from email Q & A with Forest Legacy (question 2), "If public access is not allowed, then we have to at least show how protecting this property benefits the public (i.e., protecting streams and lakes for downstream water users, protecting the viewshed for the public recreating on surrounding public lands, etc.)"
      2. Waterhead Protection - The property serves as a waterhead for the Weber Basin, which provides critical downstream water resources for public use — drinking water, agriculture, and wildlife habitat.
        1. August 2025 water rights were researched. The following information was researched by Rex & Sue Bingham (Albert Bingham family): The only water rights currently recorded belong to T3NR7E SLBM section 35 (the section close to the Chalk Creek Road). The Pineview Irrigation Company owns a water right #38.8804 it feeds two ditches Stapley ditch #1 and Stapley ditch #2. He says the uses are not completely evaluated. It is for 212.2 acre feet of water and is attached to the Chalk Creek Cottonwood creek on section 35.
    3. Mineral ownership needs clearance
      1. Current section ownership:
        1. T1NR7E SLBM: Section 1
        2. T2NR7E SLBM: Sections 2, 3 (partial), 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35, 36
        3. T3NR7E SLBM: Partial Section 35
      2. Sections with current oil production or previous exploration (to be excluded from the easement):
        1. T2NR7E SLBM: Sections 2, 3 (partial), 10
        2. T3NR7E SLBM: Partial Section 35
      3. Mineral rights ownership (Sweetwater Royalties):
        1. T1NR7E SLBM: Section 1
        2. T2NR7E SLBM: Sections 11, 13, 23, 25, 35

    The sections mentioned in 4.c. have mineral rights owned by Sweetwater Royalties.

    The Forest Legacy Program requires either:

    1. A "no surface occupancy agreement" from Sweetwater Royalties, or
    2. A good-faith effort to purchase the mineral rights.

    Despite providing expert geological assessments (see here) indicating negligible development potential, Sweetwater royalties has not responded to our repeated requests for either agreement or purchase discussions.

    As of August 2025, we are seeking legal expertise to help secure the necessary agreements or otherwise resolve the mineral rights issue so that the conservation easement process may proceed.

    For future updates, view this Google document.

 Step 6: Finalize and Record the Successful Easement

  1. Requirements:
    1. Review and sign the final agreement
    2. Record the easement with the county recorder's office so it becomes a legal, enforceable part of the property's deed.
    3. Provide copies to all relevant parties (landowner, conservation partner, legal counsel, etc.).
  2. Current Status

 Step 7: Ongoing Monitoring and Stewardship

  1. Requirements:
    1. The easement holder will conduct annual or periodic monitoring visits to ensure the terms are being followed with no day-to-day interference, as long as it stays within the easement's guidelines.

Written by RuthAnn (Bingham) Hiatt and Sher (Bingham) Shields Last updated 8-16-2025


"Forest Legacy." Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands,
https://ffsl.utah.gov/forestry/private-landowner-forestry-assistance/forest-legacy/
Accessed 14 July 2025.

"Nature Conservancy"
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/utah/
Accessed 14 July 2025

"Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation"
https://rmef.org/
Accessed 14 July 2025

"Oil and petroleum products explained" U.S. Energy Information Administration, June 2023
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/
Accessed 17 July 2025.

"Addressing Impacts from Oil and Gas Development" Western Resource Advocates, 2025
 https://westernresourceadvocates.org/we-protect-lands-and-improve-habitat-and-access/oil-and-gas-development/
Accessed 17 July 2025

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