And the deer and the antelope play...
Land use is in my personal opinion a very sensitive topic in all states but especially in
TEXAS. “I don’t want nobody even close to thinkin’ they’re gonna mess with my land!” that’s the mantra I hear EVERYDAY!
So I became very interested in the prairieland conservation topic. I was very interested in how this works so I chose to look into a model created by the Prairie Land Conservancy in Macomb, IL. They work in partnership with landowners to help conserve the regions in Illinois natural areas, open spaces, farmlands and forests.
Their main goals are to:
· retain prime agricultural land
- preserve natural landscapes and diversity, as well as conserve soils and groundwater
- protect wildlife habitat
- learn about benefits of preserving land through estate planning
As part of their plan, they educate the public about the need for land preservation and land management. What I liked the most were the many options that they offer to landowners to incentivize the program with the exception of one which I will get into later. Looking back at how to balance the three circles of sustainability - environment, economic, and social, I think that this program does a fine job of trying to do just that.
Conservation Easements (CE) are flexible and are developed in consideration of the wishes of the Landowner and the conservation values of the individual property.
Now any real estate guy or developer will tell you, do not get locked up in these types of agreements because what if the value increases or you want to build a structure worth millions of dollars on a property once deemed unnecessary for a tax write off?
While CEs in most cases restrict future development and commercial endeavors, many other terms may be negotiated. Some topics that may need to be considered:
- Hunting, Trapping, Fishing
- in most cases, a CE does not restrict legal non-commercial hunting practices
- Public Access
- generally not required, but can apply in some situations
- Structures
- future construction of a building can be negotiated, e.g. a barn
- Management of the property to maintain the conservation value
- a management plan is typically developed as part of the CE negotiation process
· With a Conservation Easement, the Landowner continues to own the land and may sell it or pass it on to heirs.
o Again the CE remains with the property regardless of ownership.
Donation of a CE to Prairie Land Conservancy may provide the landowner
· income tax
· property tax
· estate tax benefits
It takes strategic planning from many entities but as you can see, it is not about just giving away the land. In fact, see the following other options.
Other Conservation Options
1) Donation of Land For Conservation
A Landowner may choose to donate property to Prairie Land Conservancy for the permanent protection of the conservation values of the property. The donation would qualify as a charitable gift for income tax purposes.
2) Bargain Sale of Land
With this option the Landowner sells their property to Prairie Land Conservancy for less than the fair market value. This provides cash as well as certain tax advantages to the Landowner.
3) Leases or Management Agreements
Non-permanent agreements between a Landowner and Prairie Land Conservancy that limits development or allows for optimal management of natural resources on a property.
BUT
There are no tax advantages with these types of agreements.
That’s where I find that this compromise isn’t really a strong compromise. There has to be an incentive or does the concept of greater good come into play at this point. Well, maybe so, but I highly doubt very many developers will get into this type of an agreement unless they are able to have bragging rights, which means this type of organization has to have some clout within the community. It also may depend on how many acres are being negotiated.
http://www.prairielandconservancy.org/Conservation/
