« Realtor joins officer quartet Spring ‘07 Newsletter »
‘Land rush’ puts cash pressure on North Olympic Land Trust
A local version of a “land rush” has North Olympic Land Trust leaders scrambling to figure out how to respond to all the landowners who are asking the nonprofit organization to help them protect special qualities of their land. “It’s wonderful that we’re getting three to four calls a week from landowners,” said John Willits, Conservation Committee chairman. “It’s clear that the interest and needs are out there. Our capacity is limited, however, unless we can increase our funding to cover the additional costs of an increasing number of conservation agreements.”
In addition to paying for the staff time each easement requires, Willits said the Land Trust must make sure the organization will have the resources to remain financially stable and uphold the agreements, which are legally enforceable in perpetuity.
The permanent agreements with landowners protect such special qualities as habitat for salmon and other wildlife, farmland, sustainable timberland, clean water and air, scenic vistas, open space and historic areas.
The agreements, officially termed conservation easements, take more time than many people realize, said Allison Lutz, the organization’s Conservation Manager. “Quite a few steps are involved, especially because each agreement must be tailored to the individual property and what the landowner wants,” she said. “Our first step is finding out the landowner’s vision and goals. Then we view the property and evaluate its conservation values. If the property meets the Land Trust’s criteria, we work with the owners to draft agreements that incorporate their wishes.”
Lutz said the process of completing each agreement is very time-consuming because each property owner must determine what property rights to give up and retain. She said more than two dozen prospects now are in her active file. “There seems to be a mushrooming effect, as more people learn about our services and tell others,” she said.
Willits said interest seems higher than he can recall in his experience as a volunteer during most of the years since the organization began, in 1990.
Federal income tax benefits may be prompting some of the interest, he said. A law that took effect last August and expires at the end of this year makes it possible for donors of development rights to deduct a greater percentage of their adjusted gross income and stretch the deductions over more years, according to information published by the nation-wide Land Trust Alliance (LTA). It describes the percentage for qualifying farmers and ranchers as “up to 100 percent of income” and for other donors as “up to 50 percent in any year.” Donors can take deductions over as many as 15 years, up from 5 years, the LTA publication says.
The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other national and area publications have carried articles about the heightened benefits in recent weeks. Other tax deductions are available for cash donors, Willits said.
“We need everyone who cares about keeping this a good place to live to provide the financial support our organization needs if it is to respond to this unprecedented interest,” he said.
More information is available from the local office, 360-417-1815, or northolympiclandtrust.org.
The organization also sponsors monthly Conservation Conversations on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Land Trust office . The next event is Tuesday, May 22. Participants must call the office to register because space is limited.
More than 1,300 acres in Clallam County with special qualities currently receive permanent protection from the Land Trust, mostly through conservation agreements. The organization owns about 100 acres, obtained through donations and grants.
This entry was posted on Saturday, April 7th, 2007 at 11:31 am and is filed under Latest News.