An easement appurtenant—also known as an appurtenant easement, an appendant easement, or a pure easement—is an easement created to benefit another tract of land, with the use of the easement being incident to the ownership of that other tract of land.

An easement appurtenant benefits one tract of land (the dominant estate or tenement) to the detriment or burden of the other tract of land (the servient estate or tenement).

Easements appurtenant are attached to the land (are said to “run with the land”) and are automatically transferred when either the dominant estate or the servient estate is sold or transferred to a new owner.

In Wyoming, an easement appurtenant is recognized as a type of property interest that provides the holder of the dominant estate certain use rights over the servient estate. This easement is inherently connected to the land, meaning it benefits and burdens the respective parcels regardless of ownership changes. When either the dominant or servient property is sold or transferred, the easement appurtenant automatically passes to the new owner. This is because the easement is considered to 'run with the land,' which is a legal principle ensuring that the rights and obligations of an easement are inseparable from the land itself. Wyoming state statutes and case law govern the creation, transfer, and termination of easements appurtenant, and these laws must be adhered to for an easement to be legally recognized and enforceable. An attorney can provide specific guidance on how these laws apply to individual circumstances and can assist in the drafting, negotiation, and enforcement of easement agreements.