It legally binds all present and future owners of the property and is recorded in the Register of Deeds. It does not necessarily prevent all further development of the property but does restrict it to some degree. Nor does it guarantee public access to the property. It may be very restrictive or only somewhat restrictive. Easements can reduce the potential for disagreement over future uses when lands are passed on to the next generation.
Easements offer permanent protection.
In the discussion of land or property it is important to understand that the owner owns not only the land itself, but also a bundle of rights that are part and parcel of that piece of property. These are property rights. The owner, for example, may have the right to farm the property - to grow anything his heart desires. These rights all have a value as does the land itself. The value of a conservation easement follows the real estate market in a similar fashion to the value of land.