Press Releases
Tehama land under conservation easementChico Enterprise-Record Land at the western edge of the Lassen National Forest's Ishi Wilderness in eastern Tehama County has been placed in a conservation easement. A conservation easement is a procedure where a property owner voluntarily chooses to put legal prohibitions on developing a property. Often the deals include payment to the property owner or tax write-offs. The easement on the 1,080-acre property is being funded through the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation's Preserving Wild California Program. A second property expected to join the conservation effort by the end of the year, would add another 1,800 acres. Details of that deal are still in the works. Allowed uses in conservation easements include livestock grazing, hunting, fishing and non-permanent residence. Both deals were organized under the leadership of the Northern California Regional Land Trust. Chico Enterprise Record Runs Article on Tax Incentive LawDecember 20, 2006By HEATHER HACKING Staff Writer Leaders of the Northern California Regional Land Trust hope that some new rules boosting tax savings for conservation easements will heighten the interest of local landowners who want their land to remain undeveloped. Conservation easements have long been used to provide tax benefits to people who wanted to ensure that their lands would be protected from future development and/or receive a tax benefit. A conservation easement is a legal contract wherein a property owner agrees not to have the land developed. Typically the easement is permanent, meaning even when the land is inherited or sold, the future owner also has the same limitations on the land. In exchange, the property owner who makes the agreement receives a tax write-off for the difference between the land value if developed and the land value undeveloped. Sometimes a deal would involve a private funder who pays the landowner for the development rights, but funding for those deals is limited. With the easement, landowners would go into the contractual arrangement for a variety of reasons. Some feel strongly about their land and want assurances it will always be used for agriculture or open space. Some use the tax savings or income for improvements to their land holdings. Sometimes it can help ease inheritance taxes. In August of this year the federal government passed a law that sweetens the deal for transactions made in 2006 and 2007. Advocates for conservation easements are continuing to work to have the new rules extended. The new law raises the deduction a landowner can take for donating a conservation easement from 30 percent of their income in any year to 50 percent. It also allows qualifying farmers to deduct up to 100 percent of their income. Lastly it extends the carry-over period for tax deductions from 5 to 15 years. Jamison Watts, executive director of the Northern California Regional Land Trust, hopes the new incentives will provide relief to farmers and ranchers who are struggling financially. Sometimes a conservation easement can help a farmer get through a rough time, rather than feeling pressure to sell to developers. “Ag conversion to development is happening at an alarming rate in California,” Watts said. The American Farmland Trust just completed a study that determined 97,000 acres were urbanized in the 1990s and 20,000 acres between 2000 and 2002. Those numbers were just from Kern County to Southern California and don’t reflect ag conversions in the Sacramento Valley. The Northern California Regional Land Trust, http://www.landconservation.org, helps facilitate conservation easements. Watts said under the previous rules, a landowner earning $50,000 who donated an easement valued at $1 million could take $15,000 deduction for five years, for a total of $90,000. Under the new rules for a qualifying farmer allows up to an $800,000 deduction over 15 years. Nonfarmers could take a $25,000 deduction for 15 years, for a total of $400,000.  Chico News and Review Interviews New Executive Director and Runs Article on New Tax Incentive Lawhttp://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=oid%3A250745
Legislative Victory for Land ConservationAdjusted Deduction for Conservation Easement Donations Will Help Farmers and Ranchers. Section 1206 of the pensions bill (HR 4) recently passed by Congress will help family farmers, ranchers, and other moderate-income landowners get a significant tax benefit for making the extraordinarily valuable donation of a conservation easement, restricting future development of their land to protect a resource important to the public. Most such donations are made to local, community-based charities dedicated to keeping land in agriculture, conserving important wildlife habitats, and protecting important open space and historic resources. This proposal will:
This provision would be effective for donations made from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2007. After that, the law would revert back to previous provisions, unless Congress extends the provision prior to the deadline.
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