Land acquisition and conservation easements are two tools for protecting undeveloped, open space lands from intensive development. Fee-simple land acquisition, more specifically, is the purchase of land by a government or land preservation non-profit to preserve it in an undeveloped state for agricultural, conservation, and/or recreational purposes.

Conservation easements are legal agreements by which landowners maintain ownership of, but sell or donate the right to develop their property in order to conserve natural resources, viewsheds, habitat, or farmland. The organization to which the land is eased, whether a private land trust or governmental entity, is responsible for monitoring deed restriction compliance with current and future property owners.