A stretch of green farmland surrounded by growing communities can look increasingly out of place, but one Utah couple spent years ensuring their property would remain that way. Sheri Schiess and her late husband, Boyd, worked for 14 years to preserve their 25.5-acre farm in Nibley, Utah, as development expanded around it. According to a report by Utah Public Radio (UPR), their effort ultimately resulted in a conservation easement with the Bear River Land Conservancy, permanently removing most development rights from the property. The agreement means the farm can continue to be used for agriculture, but it cannot be turned into a subdivision by Schiess, her children or future generations.
A farm surrounded by development
The Schiess property sits at the corner of 4000 South and 640 West in Nibley, an area where development has been advancing. Yet the farm itself remains an open expanse of agricultural land, with hay grown on the property and sheep being fed from it. For Schiess, preserving that landscape is about more than simply keeping an undeveloped patch of land. She lives only a few blocks away and continues to use the farm as working agricultural ground. She also uses wool from her sheep in educational activities, including teaching schoolchildren how to dye it.The effort to protect the property began years before the final conservation agreement was reached. Schiess told Utah Public Radio that the process took 14 years and involved a lengthy bureaucratic process. Her husband, Boyd, died not long after the couple entered the agreement in 2022. The conservation easement now ensures that the land will remain protected regardless of who owns it in the future. Under the agreement, the development rights were largely donated, meaning the property remains privately owned while its potential for future development is permanently restricted.
The Schiess property sits at the corner of 4000 South and 640 West in Nibley, an area where development has been advancing (Image Credit: Brock Marchant/ The Salt Lake Tribune)
How a conservation easement works
A conservation easement does not necessarily mean that land becomes a public park. Instead, it places permanent restrictions on how the property can be developed while allowing the owner to retain ownership and continue approved uses.In the Schiess case, the land remains a working farm. There is also no guarantee that the public will be allowed onto the property. That distinction is important because conservation does not always mean creating publicly accessible open space. According to Utah Public Radio, Gabriel Murray, executive director of the Bear River Land Conservancy, said that some properties are better suited to remaining private agricultural land while still providing conservation benefits. Wildlife habitat and waterways can also be protected through easements even when the public does not have access.The Bear River Land Conservancy, founded in 2011, uses government and donor funding to acquire development rights from properties in the region. In cases such as Schiess’ farm, the approach allows land to remain privately owned while preventing future conversion to development.
Why Utah is using the approach
Conservation easements are becoming more common in Cache Valley as communities face the challenge of preserving open land while development continues. One reason is cost. Buying an entire property can be considerably different from purchasing only its development rights. Christopher Sands, a member of the Cache Open Space Advisory Committee, told the Salt Lake Tribune that purchasing an easement essentially means buying the development rights off the property. That can allow public money and private conservation funding to protect more land without governments taking ownership of every acre.There are examples elsewhere in Utah as well. Cache County purchased nearly 800 acres in the Sherwood Hills area in Wellsville in 2025. That $7.5 million transaction included 471 acres that were made available to the public, while another 300 privately owned acres were placed under a conservation easement. Park City has also combined outright ownership with conservation easements as part of its open-space preservation efforts. City officials have said Park City owns thousands of acres of open space, while additional land is protected through easements.
A piece of farmland that will stay green
For Schiess, the result is particularly personal. The farm is part of her late husband’s family’s agricultural legacy, and the agreement means the open landscape will remain visible even as the surrounding area changes. The arrangement also illustrates a broader question facing growing communities: whether preserving open land necessarily requires turning it into publicly owned space. In this case, the answer was to leave the farm in private hands while permanently removing its development potential.Schiess can continue growing hay and caring for her sheep, while the property remains protected for future generations. The agreement does not stop development elsewhere in Nibley, but it ensures that these 25.5 acres will not become another residential subdivision. After 14 years of trying to secure that outcome, the farm has a future that looks very different from the development spreading around it: it will remain agricultural land, protected by a conservation easement that runs with the property rather than ending with its current owner.
