|
|
Private Land Conservation in U.S. Soars
Total Acres Conserved Increases 54% from 24 Million to 37 Million since 2000; Increased Tax Incentives and Growth in West, Southeast Are Trends to Watch
Middletown, NY, December 19, 2006 – A new report released by the Land Trust Alliance finds that the pace of private land conservation by local and state land trusts more than tripled between successive five-year periods from 2000 to 2005. State and local land trusts have doubled their conservation acres from 6 million to 11.9 million acres in the past five years – an area twice the size of the state of New Hampshire.
Including national conservation groups a total of 37 million acres have been conserved by private means—an area 16 1/2 times the size of Yellowstone National Park. The National Land Trust Census is the nation’s only tabulation of private land conservation data.
“The success of private land conservation boils down to this: When people appreciate the natural qualities of their environment, they are increasingly taking steps in each of their communities to conserve what makes that land unique,” said Rand Wentworth, President of the Land Trust Alliance. “With the federal government reporting that we lose about two million acres to development sprawl each year, private, voluntary conservation gives everyday Americans the tools and resources they need to protect their natural heritage.”
The National Land Trust Census quantifies private conservation efforts in America from 2000 to 2005. Through a survey of land trusts operating in the U.S., the Land Trust Alliance measures the number of acres privately conserved; the types of conservation tools used; the types of land they target for conservation; regional growth patterns; and organizational resources. Additional findings of the report include:
- The states with the highest total acres conserved are California, Maine, Colorado, Montana, Virginia, New York, Vermont, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Notably, Colorado and Virginia are two of the few states offering a state tax incentive for conservation, operating in tandem with the federal incentive—a likely factor in the rankings.
- The American West is the fastest-growing region in both the number of acres saved and the number of land trusts, followed by the Southeast. The Northeast gained the most acreage under conservation easement, nearly tripling the acres so held in the past five years. Acreage protected increased in every region of the country.
- America’s land trusts have markedly enhanced their professionalism and increased their ranks to 1,667 in 2005 from 1,263 in 2000.
- Local and state land trusts increased the acres protected by conservation easements by 148%. These private, voluntary agreements saved 6,245,969 acres in 2005, versus 2,514,566 just five years ago.
- The land type reported as being the primary focus of land trust efforts is protecting natural areas and wildlife habitat (39%), followed by open space (38%) and water resources (26%), especially wetlands.
In addition to assessing data on private, voluntary land conservation, the National Land Trust Census also identifies key trends to watch in private, voluntary land conservation. Among the trends is increased knowledge and use of conservation easements as a tool to conserve land. Use of conservation easements more than doubled in the past 5 years, with the Northeast being most active in this area.
A new federal tax incentive for donations of conservation easements, enacted in August 2006 and providing special adjustments to help farmers and ranchers, is expected to prompt more large-scale conservation throughout the West. With land trusts developing in the West much later than in the Northeast, where some date back more than 100 years, the West is nonetheless catching up with the fastest rate of growth in terms of both acres saved and numbers of land trusts.
New York’s Trends in Conservation: 2000-2005
- Land trusts in New York have protected 52,722 acres since 2000; this represents a 9% increase in acres conserved
- · As of 2005 there are now 90 land trusts operating in New York, a 25% increase
- New York land trusts have increased their full time and part time staff 10% in five years
- Land trust supporters and volunteers in New York went up 22%, to a total of 54,598 in 2005
“As land values soar open space is threatened. The fact is that many of our farmers simply can’t afford to do a conservation easement without tax incentives. Because the process of land conservation is complex, it can take several years to complete a transaction, but it is voluntary, it’s needed, and it’s one of the few ways to protect vulnerable open space,” said James Delaune, Executive Director of the Orange County Land Trust.
Another trend to watch is that tax incentives at both the state and federal level are spurring private conservation, particularly as federal funding for land conservation purchases has dried up. Ballot initiatives, providing new funding for conservation, are also supporting more conservation in some states. In 2006, $6.7 billion in public funding was approved in 133 ballot initiatives across the country, including California, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina and Texas. This compares to $1.5 billion in new conservation ballot initiatives in 2005.
Assembly Member Aileen Gunther said "This data suggests what I
have long been a proponent of, and that is that through organizations like the Land Trust Alliance and The Orange County Land Trust, communities in partnership with land trusts and government can keep the landscape they love while accommodating growth. This is achieved in Orange County through incentive-based programs administered by the County's Department of Planning that provide interested landowners with new options.
Property taxes continue to increase throughout the region, and more and more communities are finding that explosive, sprawling growth is part of the problem. On the one hand growth can expand a community’s tax base, but it also increases demand for costly roads, schools, police, fire, sewer, water lines and other services for which the community must pay. There is mounting evidence that inefficient, sprawling growth is actually a net drain on community tax coffers."
Land trusts are also enhancing their professionalism and attracting more private funding. Growth was seen in not just the number of land trusts, but also in their levels of staffing (47%), volunteers (63%), funding (120%), and philanthropic support (61% more members). An important new trend is the growth in endowments which are used by land trusts to ensure long-term stewardship of land in their care. Fifty-four percent of land trusts report using endowments, totaling over $1 billion.
Orange County Land Trust President, Dr. Douglas McBride said, we know that voluntary land conservation works and it is being proven throughout the Hudson Valley. We have a partnership of the public sector with grass roots organizations utilizing local efforts supported by sound tax policy. This is what land conservation looks like in the 21st century
|
|
|
