May 23, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The hotly debated Farm Bill, which Congress enacted yesterday with an override of the President’s veto, renews a powerful tax incentive which has helped conserve a million or more acres of farms, ranches and natural areas across the US. The incentive had expired January 1st, but is now retroactive to the beginning of the year and will last through 2009.
A broad coalition representing sportsmen, outdoors enthusiasts, farmers, ranchers and national conservation groups, embraced the measure. Rand Wentworth, president of the Land Trust Alliance, said “This renewed tax incentive for donations of conservation easements is one of the best things Congress could do this year to help landowners choose the conservation option over sprawl. Especially for family farmers and ranchers of modest income, this is a great way to help them keep productive agricultural land from being lost.”
Wentworth gave special credit to Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Dave Camp (R-MI), saying “They are all true conservation leaders who have worked tirelessly to save a conservation measure that has already had benefits in hundreds of communities across the country.” In conserving land, Wentworth added, “We also are protecting clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat, local food sources, historic landscapes and scenic beauty.”
Senator Baucus, who originated the incentive provision, said “Simply put—this is an incentive that works: for conservation, for farmers, for ranchers, and for all landowners who want a fair deal for their tremendous generosity in donating conservation easements. Many ranchers and other landowners in Montana and across the US have told me they could not afford to conserve their land without this measure.”
The incentive, which applies to a landowner’s federal income tax, will:
Raise the deduction a donor can take for donating a voluntary conservation agreement from 30% of their income in any year to 50%;
Allow farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100% of their income; and
Increase the number of years over which a donor can take deductions from 6 to 16 years.
Landowner donations to conservation organizations known as land trusts have resulted in millions of acres of working lands and natural areas being conserved for the future. According to the Alliance, many conservation groups reported an annual doubling of the number of conservation agreements completed in 2007, in response to the same incentive that had expired in January. Land trusts in America have together saved more than 36 million acres from development, an area the size of New England.
The Alliance also credited the success of the measure to the entrepreneurial spirit of the private sector, which has taken the lead in conserving land in recent years. Said Wentworth, “The fact is that conservation in this country now depends greatly on the generosity of individuals. It is the individual rancher, farmer or forester, working the land in a way that is conservation-oriented, who will largely define our natural heritage in the future.’
Legislative Victory for Land Conservation
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The Time's Right For Preservation
Guilford Buying Huge Shoreline Parcel
Tom Condon/The Hartford Courant
February 8, 2009
At nearly 50 square miles, Guilford is one of the largest towns in the state, and one of the most attractive. That's in part due to a willingness to preserve key pieces of land, starting with a large and lovely town green.
Residents of the shoreline community continued the tradition two weeks ago when they voted overwhelmingly (2,645 to 486) to buy a 624-acre parcel along the East River that includes tidal marshes, fields and forests. It is one of the largest pieces of undeveloped land in the shoreline area.
Guilfordites voted to spend $15.5 million, all their own money except for a $3 million federal grant, in a down economy, to pay for the open land.
That is a remarkable statement by the townspeople. What is more encouraging is that they are not alone. Of late, residents of many towns have begun to see the value in keeping farms and fields intact rather then turning them into large-lot subdivisions. I'm hoping the new state budget doesn't halt this hard-won progress
In recent months:
• Residents of Windsor Locks voted emphatically to preserve a pristine 224-acre wood called the Waterworks Brook parcel in the southern part of town.
Middletown officials bought the development rights to a 34-acre farm owned by 90-year-old Adolph Schiemann, who continues to work the land and live in the circa-1750 farmhouse. Middletown also joined with Middlefield to buy a 50-acre farm that straddles both towns.
• Middlefield also bought the former Powder Ridge Ski Area.
• Suffield bought two farms totaling 132 acres, using nearly $400,000 of its own money and state grants totaling nearly $1 million.
• Residents of Simsbury, Ashford, Pomfret, Union, Glastonbury, New Hartford, Salem, Granby and other communities have preserved or are in the process of preserving farms or open space.
Though there is no statewide registry of open space acquisitions — and there should be — it feels like there's an uptick, especially in farm preservation. A number of activists agree.
"There is tremendous momentum for farmland preservation," said Jiff Martin of the Working Lands Alliance, a farmland advocacy group.
She said towns and farmers are responding to unprecedented levels of federal and state funding, and that the slowdown in the real estate market offer a great opportunity to invest in farmland.
"Town officials see that protected farms continue to pay taxes, provide free environmental benefits and pose no stewardship costs ... while maintaining an exciting business sector that attracts tourism and maintains community character. Town leaders that are planning for the future realize now is the time to protect farms, before this window of opportunity closes forever."
A lot of factors are at play in these preservation efforts. People see their towns being overrun with development and losing character. The Windsor Locks acquisition was the last large wooded area in town, for example, and many people didn't want to lose it. The amazing growth and popularity of farmers markets in the past few years suggests strong support for local agriculture.
There is also an emerging economic argument. Towns used to routinely allow every new residential subdivision, on the theory that they would generate needed tax revenue. But more recently, they've been doing the math. They often conclude that the cost of the roads, sewers, police, schools and other services will surpass the tax revenue from the new houses (I've heard a home builders group contest the point).
In Guilford, First Selectman Carl A. Balestracci Jr. said the town expects to bond $12 million-plus. Over the 20-year life of the bond, someone with a home assessed at $300,000 will pay a total of $1,620 for his share of the land purchase.
The land could hold 125-150 houses. Compared with the cost of new services and infrastructure for those houses, Balestracci said, $1,620 is a "great bargain — plus you preserve a great piece of property."
It's kind of a shame that local zoning doesn't do a better job of protecting scenic or environmentally sensitive land, but it usually doesn't. Towns have to buy land or development rights to save it from development. But as Martin said, there are new resources to help to pay for farms and open space.
The Windsor Locks purchase, from a water company, was made possible by an innovative state tax credit program under which an owner who sells open space at less than market value receives a 50 percent tax credit for the difference.
One of the most successful funding efforts — one of the state's major smart growth laws — is the Community Investment Act, passed in 2005. That law created a fund, from real estate recording fees, which has produced tens of millions of dollars for farmland preservation and programs, open space acquisition, affordable housing and historic preservation.
The program has been a major success. It is funding virtually the entire historic preservation effort. It's given state agencies the flexibility to invest in a number of smart growth initiatives. It's also making a big difference in farmland acquisition. Martin said the state Department of Agriculture has 50 farms in the pipeline, thanks to the additional staff and survey costs paid for by the law.
Recognizing that times are hard and that state officials have difficult choices to make, Gov. M. Jodi Rell ought to leave this fund alone. Mrs. Rell has indicated she wants $12 million from the fund in each of the next two years. In a sluggish economy, that could be the entire fund. The state has a finite and dwindling amount of open land. Scenic and ecologically significant parcels, such as the Guilford land, should be saved. But if we don't acquire them in the very near future, they will be lost.
The Burlington Land Trust Supports…
Wild & Scenic Designation for the Lower Farmington River
The Lower Farmington River/Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic Study Committee is in the middle of a three year study which could result in Congress designating the Lower Farmington River as Wild & Scenic. It flows through 10 Connecticut towns including Burlington.
The Act would establish an advisory management committee comparable to the Farmington River Coordinating Committee (FRCC) on the Upper Farmington. That committee would receive annual funding from the National Park Service for river-related conservation projects and education. Some of this funding would be available to local groups in the form of small grants for projects that support the goals of the management plan. For example, in 2007, the FRCC received over $65,000 which was used for various projects including water quality monitoring, a Salmon in the Classroom program and as start up funding for the Hartland Land Trust.
The Management Committee would have National Park Service staff to provide current, sound scientific information and technical resources for river-related conservation projects. Scientific information and technical support could also help local land use boards to make defensible land use decisions, potentially saving them both time and money. Under the Wild and Scenic Act, local boards and commissions retain control in planning and regulation. The Management Committee role would only be advisory.
A Wild and Scenic designation would encourage tourism and generate increased recreational use of the river. A recent study by the CCSU's Center for Public Policy and Social Research shows that there are more than 124,000 recreational visits to the river annually. This has potential economic benefits for the people of Burlington.
To learn more go to www.lowerfarmingtonriver.org
The Lower Farmington River. Click arrow to play!