Conservation Easements, Supply Agreements, & Green Certification

By: Bret Vicary, Ph.D., MAI, CGA, LPF
Timberland transactions increasingly involve conservation easements, wood supply agreements, and green certification considerations. On the one hand, these features can reduce the price and total flexibility associated with timberland ownership.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Conservation-Easements-Supply-Agreements-and-Green-Certification/128/

 

IRS Guidance regarding deductions by individuals for qualified conservation contributions

By: Amy S. Wei and Patricia M. Zweibel
This notice provides guidance relating to the percentage limitations imposed by § 170(b)(1)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) on qualified conservation contributions made by individuals.
https://www.landcan.org/article/IRS-Guidance-regarding-deductions-by-individuals-for-qualified-conservation-contributions/199/

 

The Importance of Land Trusts to Forestry

By: T.J. McEvoy
Almost everyone in forestry has heard of land trusts since they have become a common fixture especially in areas that are rapidly urbanizing.
https://www.landcan.org/article/The-Importance-of-Land-Trusts-to-Forestry/133/

 

An Overview of Financial Alternatives for Land Conservation Transactions

By: Wade Martin and Sally Ramirez
Clearly, the motivation for a land conservation transaction is often the desire of the landowner to safeguard the property. However, this objective must be balanced with the need to maximize the return to the landowner.
https://www.landcan.org/article/An-Overview-of-Financial-Alternatives-for-Land-Conservation-Transactions/140/

 

State of the Land 2006, A brief inventory of public and private land in the United States

By: Amos Eno and Laura Mass Dover and Willard Dyche
“In wildness is the preservation of the world.” Quoted from an essay by Thoreau lamenting the way in which modern urban life has made natural resources into commodities and isolated people from the natural processes on which their lives depended.
https://www.landcan.org/article/State-of-the-Land-2006-A-brief-inventory-of-public-and-private-land-in-the-United-States/141/

 

Using Conservation Easements to Protect Working Forests

By: Brenda Lind
For decades, conservation easements have protected open space values such as wildlife habitat, ecological diversity, recreational access and aesthetics.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Using-Conservation-Easements-to-Protect-Working-Forests/164/

 

Protecting The Public Interest And Investment In Conservation - A Response To Professor Korngold’s Critique Of Conservation Easements

By: Nancy McLaughlin
The use of conservation easements as a land-protection tool has grown considerably over the past several decades, and with that growth has come criticism from a variety of sources.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Protecting-The-Public-Interest-And-Investment-In-Conservation---A-Response-To-Professor-Korngolds-Critique-Of-Conservation-Easements/200/

 

IRS Guidance Regarding Appraisal Requirements for Noncash Charitable Contributions

This notice provides transitional guidance relating to the new definitions of “qualified appraisal” and “qualified appraiser” in § 170(f)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code, and new § 6695A of the Code regarding substantial or gross valuation misstatements, as added by § 1219 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, Pub.
https://www.landcan.org/article/IRS-Guidance-Regarding-Appraisal-Requirements-for-Noncash-Charitable-Contributions-/198/

 

Conservation Easements - Perpetuity and Beyond

By: Nancy McLaughlin
Perpetual conservation easements are intended to protect the particular land they encumber for the conservation purposes specified in the deed of conveyance “in perpetuity”—or at least until circumstances have changed so profoundly that continued protection of the land for those purposes is no longer feasible.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Conservation-Easements--Perpetuity-and-Beyond/176/

 

In Defense of Conservation Easements - A Response to the End of Perpetuity

By: Nancy McLaughlin and W. William Weeks
Charitable gifts made to government entities and charitable organizations can be either restricted or unrestricted. An unrestricted charitable gift is a contribution of money or property that the donor makes without attaching any conditions on its use by the recipient entity or organization.
https://www.landcan.org/article/In-Defense-of-Conservation-Easements--A-Response-to-the-End-of-Perpetuity/216/

 

An Introduction To Easements

By: George F. Smith
You may be one of the many Tennessee landowners who have granted easements. Perhaps you will be asked for an easement in the future for a pipeline, power line or water line to cross your property.
https://www.landcan.org/article/An-Introduction-To-Easements/1738/

 

Conservation Servitudes - a path to protection

By: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
The Lousiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, through their Natural Areas Program, purchases conservation easements on private land to preserve Lousiana's natural heritage.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Conservation-Servitudes--a-path-to-protection/1628/

 

Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative Guidelines

By: Gulf Engineers and Consultants
Coastal forests in Louisiana have long been recognized as valuable for the goods and services that they provide. However, since coastal forests have become increasingly vulnerable to pressures from natural and anthropogenic forces, these critical habitats are in danger of being lost.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Coastal-Forest-Conservation-Initiative-Guidelines/1629/

 

Farmland Conservation 2.0

By: National Young Farmers Coalition
How land trusts can protect America's working farms.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Farmland-Conservation-20/2577/

 

Reconciling Mineral Rights and Conservation Easements

By: Blair Fitzsimons
Answers on subsurface mining below conservation easements.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Reconciling-Mineral-Rights-and-Conservation-Easements/256/

 

Land Preservation - An Essential Ingredient in Smart Growth

By: Thomas Daniels
The preservation of land for working rural landscapes, wildlife habitat, urban parks, recreational trails, and protecting water supplies and floodplains is emerging as an integral component of smart growth programs.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Land-Preservation--An-Essential-Ingredient-in-Smart-Growth/148/

 

Conservation Easements and the 2010 Roth Conversion - A symbiotic relationship

By: Adam Miller
It may come as a shock, but there is a sort of symbiotic relationship at work between property owners with conservation easements and the IRS.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Conservation-Easements-and-the-2010-Roth-Conversion--A-symbiotic-relationship-/111/

 

Leaving a Legacy of Land

By: Ed Contreras, IWJV's Working Wetlands Conservation Delivery Coordinator
Protecting private lands that provide significant natural resource or cultural values is often a capstone objective for landowners, managers, and conservationists.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Leaving-a-Legacy-of-Land/3460/

 

Tools For Reducing High Property Taxes in Maine.

By: Andrew A. Cadot
Many owners of real estate in coastal Maine are facing dramatic increases in their property taxes as a result of municipal revaluations, especially those with shorefront or a water view.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Tools-For-Reducing-High-Property-Taxes-in-Maine/120/

 

Bundle Of Rights Approach To Value

By: Gerald R. Barber
The bundle of rights theory maintains that ownership of a parcel of real estate may embrace a great many rights, such as the right to its occupancy and use; the right to sell it in whole or in part; the right to bequeath; the right to transfer by contract for specified periods of time, the benefits to be derived by occupancy and use of the real estate.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Bundle-Of-Rights-Approach-To-Value/117/