Press Releases
Ranch Under Conservation Easement Staff Reports, Chico Enterprise-Record, 8-31-11 RED BLUFF — The Northern California Regional Land Trust has added another property to the list of agricultural conservation easements it has assisted.
More Green West of the Green LineHeather Hacking, CHICO — Conservation easements, protecting land from future development, are becoming more common. But a recent transaction near Comanche Creek is the first within a short distance of Chico's green line.
Just 0.4 miles south of Chico, off Hegan Lane, the 146 acres of orchards is in an area where many parcels are being considered for smaller ranchettes.
Farmer George Nicolaus said he "saw something about an ag easement in the paper" about three years ago, and learned about the Northern California Regional Land Trust. They started having "casual conversations about what they were about."
When he bought the orchard in 2005, the soil "was a good fit for what I farm," Nicolaus said.
"I was observing other neighbors taking 40-plus acre properties and making them 20," he said.
A home on a large lot is an attractive lifestyle, but provides "a lot of headaches" if the land is still used as farming, Nicolaus said. The land is "class one" soil, and he can see it growing food for generations to come.
Strengthening the green line
Jamison Watts, land trust executive director, said the easement helps reinforce the green line, the 1982 boundary that separates the Chico urban area from prime agricultural soils to the west.
"Our hope is that more farmers between the green line and the Sacramento River will entertain the possibility of granting permanent ag easements on their farm land."
The price of the easement is based on the difference between the value of the land as development and the value of the land as a farm. In the case of Nicolaus, the deal was for $530,000, which is less than the appraised easement value, Watts said.
The money came from the Department of Conservation's California Farmland Conservancy Program and the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program.
The first ag easement by Northern California Regional Land Trust was the Llano Seco Rancho in 2006, which protected 1,870 acres of ag land, 1,715 acres of cattle grazing and 736 acres of riparian habitat.
The property owned by Nicolaus abuts Comanche Creek, is just west of the University Farm, north of a mobile home park and close to "some other high-density development."
With tight state and federal budgets, Watts said he thinks the near future will see less money for wild land protection, and more money for "prime farm land, irrigated farm land, especially 100-plus acres and near spheres of influence."
Going through the process
Nicolaus farms several other orchards around the county, and would consider a conservation easement for those properties as well. The development pressure for the land off Hegan Lane made it attractive to funders, he said.
When he bought the land, the almond trees were at the end of their "useful life," and the land had been planted in almonds before that. After that much time in a single crop, it was time to fumigate, which is very costly, or try a new crop. Nicolaus went for walnuts.
The young trees suffered a setback with the hail this spring, but will soon reach the height of the poles to which they are attached. This year he rented out the 171 2 feet between each row to a man who is growing sunflowers.
The farmer said he found the Northern California Regional Land Trust very professional and diligent.
There were times when the pace of the process was frustrating, he said, but that was due to state agencies, not the local land trust, he said.
But as a farmer, "I'm all about delayed gratification," Nicolaus joked. "I put a tree in the ground and 4 to 5 years later" harvest begins.
Nicolaus has been in the orchard business for 23 years, and previously lived in Iowa. He still farms land on River Road, which has been sold to the Nature Conservancy and will one day be part of the State Parks system.
Staff writer Heather Hacking can be reached at 896-7758 or hhacking@chicoer.com.
Conservation easements
The state's Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program reports that farm and grazing lands decreased by more than 35,000 acres in Butte County between 1988 and 2008.
A conservation easement is an agreement between the landowner and a land trust to permanently keep the land from development. The property owner often receives payment for development value and may receive tax benefits.
Some easements include home sites and certain areas where development will be allowed.
For examples of easements in the past several years, www.landconservation.org, then click on the "land conservation" tab.
Ranches Conserved in Tehama CountyJanuary 26, 2011 (Chico, CA) – The Northern California Regional Land Trust (NCRLT) has acquired two voluntary conservation easements protecting two working ranches and approximately 7,132 contiguous acres of rangeland in western Tehama County, approximately 15 miles west of Red Bluff. Hailed as a “hallmark conservation project for the region” by Executive Director Jamison Watts, these easements will preserve the region’s ranching tradition and ecological values that are present today for future generations of Californians. Funding for the purchase of the two easements was provided by the California Wildlife Conservation Board in the amount of $3.9 million.
Among the resources conserved, the “Red Bank Project” will permanently protect 4,275 contiguous acres of oak woodland as well as annual grassland, working farmland, chamise-redshank chaparral, spring-fed wetlands, intermittent and perennial streams, riparian habitat along Red Bank Creek and North Fork Elder Creek, scenic open space, and habitat supporting several special-status species including valley elderberry longhorn beetle, foothill yellow-legged frog, and California red-legged frog. The project also provides an essential buffer along approximately 7,000 acres of land owned by the Bureau of Land Management and Mendocino National Forest, helping to prevent the area from being compromised by incompatible land use or development. As with all of its conservation easements, NCRLT will hold and monitor the easements into the future.
In addition to principal funding from the California Wildlife Conservation Board, several conservation organizations contributed technical support or funding towards the success of the Red Bank Project including Defenders of Wildlife, CAL FIRE, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and Partners for Fish and Wildlife. Additional supporters included the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition, California Cattlemen’s Association, California Department of Fish and Game, and The Nature Conservancy.
The Northern California Regional Land Trust has been assisting Northern California landowners and public agencies in the protection of their land and natural resources, while also helping them gain the economic benefits of conservation since 1990. The organization carries out its mission by negotiating conservation easements and facilitating voluntary land exchanges and land acquisitions with willing sellers and buyers. For more information, call (530) 894-7738 or visit www.landconservation.org.
Northern California Regional Land Trust Holds MeetingsChico Enterprise-Record Landowners interested in learning about their options for conservation easements under a recent funding program can attend one of several meetings in Northern California by the Northern California Regional Land Trust. Funding recently came from the California Department of Conservation for appraisals in Northern California including Tehama, Glenn and Butte counties. A conservation easement is where a landowner wants to keep the land in production. The right to develop the land is sold, and the farmer receives funding to ensure that the land is not developed in the future. Converting to an easement can also ease tax burden on heirs to the land. Applications are made for the program, and priority is given for prime farmland. Jesika Jennings of the Northern California Regional Land Trust said phone screenings can be done. Meetings will include: # April 29 — Durham Rotary at 6:30 p.m. Location: Butte Creek Country Club, 175 Estates Drive, Chico. # May 2 — Los Molinos Grange at 8 p.m., in Los Molinos. A special workshop will also be held at the Llano Seco Rancho on May 16 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. This workshop will talk about the challenges of keeping land in agriculture as well as farm planning. There will be a luncheon and tour of the ag easements at the ranch, which include more than 1,000 acres. Reservations are required for this event. For more information, and to sign up, call Jennings at 894-2238 or jesika@landconservation.org. 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 Conservation
Adjusted 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. For more information go to: |
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