Under the provision
that went into effect Jan. 1, 2000, individuals and corporations may claim
a credit equal to 50% of the value of the easement against their Virginia
State income tax liability. The cap on the tax break is $75,000 for those
donated in 2001; and $100,000 for those donated in 2002 or thereafter.
A tax credit cannot exceed the amount of taxes owed in a year, but the
full credit may be spread over six years.
The Virginia General
Assembly last year passed the Virginia
Land Conservation Incentives Act of 1999 to
encourage "preservation of open spaces and sustainability of Virginia's
unique natural resources, wildlife habitats, open spaces and forested resources."
The Act was sponsored
by Del. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Warm Springs) and by Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr.
(R-Mount Solon.
This innovative legislation
was part of a package of incentives that emerged from former Speaker of
the House Thomas Moss' Commission on the Future of Virginia's Environment.
A representative of the Blue Ridge Foothills Conservancy served on the
Moss Commission.
Most easements in the
state are held by Virginia Outdoors Foundation, an agency of the Commonwealth
that holds more easements than any land trust in the United States. Last
year, the VOF recorded easements on 11,172 acres. Statewide, it holds easements
on 136,142 acres.
However, according to
a report recently released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Virginia
is losing rural land to development at an annual rate of more than 93,000
acres.
Federal tax benefits
also are available to easement donors.
[Back to Top]
Over the
Kitchen Table
April 2001 - BRFC Launches
Land Protection Program. There is an old land trust adage that says voluntary
land conservation is accomplished "one property at a time, over the kitchen
table". So, not surprisingly, kitchen table conversations - first with
neighbors, friends and family, and then with individual landowners - were
the key to the Blue Ridge Foothills Conservancy's successful efforts to
place a total of 218 acres of land under conservation easements in
2000.
In Madison County, long
time conservationists Portia and Dick Meares donated a conservation easement
on their 70 acre farm "Haven on Earth" located on Route 230 east of Wolftown.
In addition to scenic views, a forest walk and lovely glens, the Meares
property contains a tributary to the Rapidan River. The Land Trust of Virginia
(LTV), a statewide private non-profit organization, will hold the Meares
easement.*
When the owners of a
125 acre parcel in Greene County let adjacent landowners know they wanted
to sell their property last fall, adjoining landowners Carl and Priscilla
Schmitt, BRFC members, were immediately interested in trying to protect
the farmland acreage from speculative development. At the same time, another
conservation -minded couple, John and Helen Marr of Connecticut, were looking
for property in Greene County and were brought to the table by BRFC. The
two parties each purchased half of the property and worked with the Virginia
Outdoors Foundation (VOF) to place conservation easements on their respective
parcels. Because this acreage dominated the scenic view of all landowners
in the Parker Mountain Valley, it became obvious that the benefits the
Schmitts and Marrs would derive from protecting the each other's view extended
to other landowners. This observation led to a third neighbor, Jim and
Mary Scott Rhoads joining in placing an easement on their 23 acre Greene
Meadows Farm. The willingness of the landowners and the three neighbors
to work together under the auspices of the BRFC, resulted in a total of
148 acres of contiguous land protected in perpetuity in the Parker Mountain
Valley. It also led to Bob Parrot, a descendant of the family who owned
the land for generations, to make a generous donation to the BRFC.
* Under
the Commonwealth of Virginia law, private land trusts must be chartered
in Virginia for five years before they are authorized to hold conservation
easements. BRFC's target date is January 2003; until that time we will
work with our sister conservation organizations qualified to hold easements.
Land Legacies, Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring/Summer
2001
[Back to Top]
*
Statewide Survey Shows
Voters
Overwhelmingly Support Land Conservation
May 2001- Seven hundred
and fifty registered voters in Virginia were interviewed in a random sample
taken April 23-26, 2001. Respondents were screened for likelihood of voting
in the Virginia gubernatorial election, and the sample was balanced according
to all known demographic factors. All interviews were conducted by telephone.
The margin of error for this survey is ± 3.6%, with a 95% confidence
level.
Findings of the study
-
-
Virginia voters who say
protecting air and water quality and preserving open space should be a
legislative priority outnumber those who say cutting taxes should be a
legislative priority
-
Eighty-nine (89%) percent
of Virginia voters believe preserving and protecting open space should
be an important issue for the State Legislature and Governor to address.
Ninety-seven percent (97%) of the voters believe protecting air and water
quality should be a very important legislative priority. These results
indicate a higher percentage of voters feel these conservation issues should
be a legislative priority than feel tax reduction should be a legislative
priority (81%)
-
Virginia voters strongly
favor creating a permanent funding source for land conservation and dedicating
a portion of the state's existing land recording tax to fund this program
-
Sixty-five percent
(65%) of Virginia voters favor creating a permanent funding source to pay
for protecting forests, farms, clean water and open space. Eighty percent
(80%) support the Virginia Legislature dedicating one-fourth of the state's
existing land recording tax for land conservation. Further, eighty-two
percent (82%) support dedicating a portion of the state's existing land
recording tax when they were informed that this money would create a fund
of approximately forty million dollars per year to protect forests, farms,
clean water and open space
-
Virginia voters believe
preserving and protecting open space are as important funding priorities
as improving public schools and roads
-
Sixty-seven percent (67%)
of Virginia's voters disagreed with the following statement: When we have
so many problems in Virginia, such as funding public education and improving
our roads, the state should not be spending money on protecting and preserving
open space
-
Virginia's voters believe
protecting water resources is a critical issue
-
Ninety percent (90%) of
Virginia's voters are more likely to support dedicating part of the state's
land recording tax if some of the money will be used to protect the quality
of rivers and streams which keeps the Chesapeake Bay healthy. Ninety-two
percent (92%) support dedicating this funding source if some of the money
will be used to protect areas which are important to maintaining the state's
supply of clean drinking water
-
Eighty percent of Virginia's
voters believe at least one percent of the state budget should be spent
for land conservation. And, Virginians are willing to pay for land conservation
-
A strong plurality (45%)
of the voters believe that more than six percent of the state's budget
should be dedicated to land and water conservation. In addition, 52% of
the state's voters are willing to pay more money for conservation
-
Forty-two percent (42%)
are willing to pay more than $10 per year for a conservation program, with
nearly one-third of the voters willing to pay more than $40 per year
The results of this study
are clear indicators of how strongly Virginia voters feel about protecting
the state's natural resources. Protecting land and water resources have
become as much of a priority as education and road improvements, and more
of a priority than cutting taxes. They strongly support creating a permanent
funding source for conservation and funding this source through dedicating
one-fourth of the state's land recording tax.
About the study -
The bi-partisan
survey was was commissioned by the Conservation Lands CoFoundation, and
The Nature Conservancy Action Fund) and conducted by a Democratic research
firm, The Kitchens Group in Orlando, Florida, and a Republican research
firm, The Tarrance Group in Alexandria, Virginia.
Land Legacies, Volume One, Issue Two, Fall 2001
[Back to Top]
*
Blue Ridge Foothills
Conservancy Legacy Fund
October 2001 - One of the Blue Ridge
Foothills Conservancy's (BRFC) long-term goals is to create an endowment
or revolving fund to finance protection of lands with significant agricultural,
scenic and other conservation values in Madison and Greene Counties. Now,
thanks to a generous gift from Mr. Alfred Regnery and the American Studies
Foundation, the Legacy Fund is closer to becoming a reality. Mr. Regnery,
who lives in Madison County's Hidden Valley and Alexandria, Virginia, is
a Washington D.C. publisher and an accomplished musician.
The BRFC Legacy Fund will initially be used
to protect lands with significant conservation values by:
-
Assisting landowners in
underwriting the costs of donating a conservation easement
-
Purchasing development rights
on properties when landowners are not in a position to donate an easement,
or where farmlands are under pressure of development
-
Purchasing an option on
real estate sale properties to gain time for negotiating a conservation-friendly
sale
Eventually, BRFC's goal is to establish
a revolving fund that could also be used for the fee simple purchase of
properties and resale with a conservation easement in place.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Regnery
and hope that others will match his generosity. If you would like to support
the Legacy Fund, please make your check payable to the Blue Ridge Foothills
Conservancy and note that it should be deposited to this fund. Your gifts
are tax deductible to the full extent of the law and will go a long way
toward preserving the rural character of our two Virginia counties.
Land Legacies, Volume One, Issue Two, Fall
2001
[Back to Top]
