Mark Twain once referred to the Mississippi River as the "body of the Nation". Flowing from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico this mighty river gave birth to both King Cotton and the blues. Its flood plain is home to some of the richest wildlife habitat on earth and some of this country's poorest people.

The Mississippi River Valley has undergone many changes in the past century. This multi-million acre floodplain has lost 95% of its swamps, bayous, and alluvial bottomland hardwood forests to suburban sprawl or has been lost to suburban sprawl or converted to agricultural uses.

Yet the very reason people call the Mississippi River Valley their home is our rich history intertwined with its prairies, hills, mountains, cliffs, bottomlands and bayous, coastal savannas, longleaf forests and scenic rivers and streams. And it is we, the people of the Mississippi River Valley, that must actively preserve the unique environmental and social characteristics of America's favorite river.

Like many areas in this great Nation, private citizens own most of the land in the Mississippi River Valley. For many of these landowners, their property is more than a financial asset; it is part of their family's history, their community and their state. But the landscape is changing. Today about 80 percent of all residents in the Valley live in cities and towns, compared to about 25 percent just 50 years ago. As our urban population grows, natural habitats and scenic open spaces are lost.

One of the most significant factors affecting our landscape is the continued breakup of family-owned farms. Family-owned farms, plantations and recreational lands are affected by changing economics and the increasing tax burden on property owners. Passing on a family farm or plantation to the next generation is a time-honored tradition in the Mississippi River Valley. However, estate taxes, which can be as high as 55 percent of an estate's total value, may force heirs to sell all or part of a family property.

This web site is intended to help landowners in the Mississippi River Valley understand one of the most flexible and effective means of conserving and protecting private property: the conservation easement. A conservation easement is a legal agreement that ensures a property will be managed in perpetuity according to the landowner's desires. It may also quality the landowner for tax benefits.

Conservation easements can assist landowners in protecting their land, its wildlife habitat, scenic areas of historic buildings. Every conservation easement document is individually crafted and reflects the special qualities of the land protected and the needs of the landowner.

Conservation easements can be tailored to meet a landowner's specific needs, whether he or she owns 100,000 acres of 100 acres.

I hope you will take the time to learn more about the Mississippi River Trust and conservation easements by exploring this web site.

Your Friends at the Mississippi River Trust.