Bill to restrict conservation easements drawing attention

A state bill that could drastically limit how landowners can arrange for their lands to be handled in the future is drawing scorn from conservation groups and some landowners. If passed, the bill would require county commissions to set regulations for conservation easements, which protect private lands from future development, such as oil drilling, housing developments, and wind farms. Currently, landowners who sign up for easements set conditions approved by groups like the Nature Conservancy of Kansas or the Kansas Ranchland Trust. Such conditions for preservation remain attached to the land for perpetuity. Landowners are usually compensated with hefty tax breaks. Should the bill pass, it could be up to county commissioners how long a conservation easement could last, or if they would even be legal in that county. Proponents of the bill have said they think conservation easements put too much limitation on what future landowners can do with a property...more

An interesting concept.  Counties now control land use designations, so why should we allow state law, often backed by hefty federal subsidies, to overturn those local ordinances and plans?