I had a feeling that your situation did not fit into a neat box. After your explanation, please review these circumstances from other parts of the IRS Publication 544 Sales and other Dispositions of Assets.
Click down the left side of the page and click on Easements and Gain or Loss From Condemnations.
If you transfer a perpetual easement for consideration and do not keep any beneficial interest in the part of the property affected by the easement, the transaction will be treated as a sale of property.
And
You are considered to have made a forced sale, even though you keep the legal title.
And
If your property was condemned or disposed of under the threat of condemnation, figure your gain or loss by comparing the adjusted basis of your condemned property with your net condemnation award.
And
If your net condemnation award is less than your adjusted basis, you have a loss. If your loss is from property you held for personal use, you cannot deduct it.
It sounds like your situation may allow you to consider the transaction a forced sale and/or condemnation sale and you may be able to claim a long-term capital loss.
IRS Publication 544 Sales and other Dispositions of Assets.
Easement
The amount received for granting an easement is subtracted from the basis of the property. If only a specific part of the entire tract of property is affected by the easement, only the basis of that part is reduced by the amount received. If it is impossible or impractical to separate the basis of the part of the property on which the easement is granted, the basis of the whole property is reduced by the amount received.
Any amount received that is more than the basis to be reduced is a taxable gain. The transaction is reported as a sale of property.
If you transfer a perpetual easement for consideration and do not keep any beneficial interest in the part of the property affected by the easement, the transaction will be treated as a sale of property.
However, if you make a qualified conservation contribution of a restriction or easement granted in perpetuity, it is treated as a charitable contribution and not a sale or exchange, even though you keep a beneficial interest in the property affected by the easement.
If you grant an easement on your property (for example, a right-of-way over it) under condemnation or threat of condemnation, you are considered to have made a forced sale, even though you keep the legal title. Although you figure gain or loss on the easement in the same way as a sale of property, the gain or loss is treated as a gain or loss from a condemnation. See Gain or Loss From Condemnations, later.
Gain or Loss From Condemnations
If your property was condemned or disposed of under the threat of condemnation, figure your gain or loss by comparing the adjusted basis of your condemned property with your net condemnation award.
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