Download or read book Amending Conservation Easements written by Land Trust Alliance and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Amending Perpetual Conservation Easements Confronting the Dilemmas of Change written by Darby Bradley and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As conservation easements age, land trusts have begun to confront changed circumstances that they could not have anticipated when the easements were drafted, and under which an amendment may serve conservation or other public interests. These may involve changes in law, species, technology, community needs, or even climate. The questions to be asked are: What criteria should be used to determine whether an easement amendment would be appropriate? What process should be used to make that determination? Who decides? The land trust community is divided over whether or not easements are charitable trusts, which can only be amended with a court’s approval. This paper explores the legal, ethical, and public relations issues surrounding amendments and the limitations of applying the charitable trust doctrine. It proposes a legislative solution to clarify the rules for amending easements in response to changed circumstances.
Download or read book Landowner s Guide to Conservation Easements written by Steven Bick and published by Kendall Hunt. This book was released on 2003-05-23 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reinventing Conservation Easements written by Jeff Pidot and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No recent happening in land conservation rivals the rapid expansion of conservation easements and the related growth in the number of land trusts over the past 15 years. Among the forces driving this phenomenon are tax and other public subsidies and the view that the conservation easement is a win-win strategy in land protection. The thesis of this policy focus report is that conservation easements are a valuable land protection tool, complementing regulation, land acquisition, and tax policies, but that reforms are needed in tax and other laws and conventions governing easements, lest we risk losing the public benefits for which the easements were established.
Download or read book Amending and Terminating Perpetual Conservation Easements written by Nancy A. McLaughlin and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Until fairly recently, little consideration had been given to precisely what it means to protect land 'in perpetuity' with a conservation easement. But as perpetual conservation easements have begun to age, and the protected lands have begun to change hands, questions have arisen regarding the circumstances under which these instruments can be amended or terminated. This short article outlines the current guidance on this issue and offers some drafting suggestions.
Download or read book The Changing Landscape of Conservation Easements written by Amy Wilson Morris and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Conservation Easement Stewardship written by Renee Bouplon and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Amending Or Terminating Conservation Easements written by Paul Doscher and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Tax Guide to Conservation Easements written by C. Timothy Lindstrom and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-09-26 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Voluntary land conservation, resulting from increasingly alluring tax benefits, has significantly changed the face of land use in the United States and promises to have an even more significant influence in the future. There are more than 1,500 land trusts in the U.S. today, involving millions of acres of land that have been permanently protected by conservation easements. Most of these land trusts depend heavily upon the significant income or estate tax benefits offered by the federal tax code as an incentive for voluntary land conservation. However, only a very small percentage of land trust personnel, landowners or their advisors, or even government officials, fully understand the complexity of the requirements for these tax benefits. This is a comprehensive book on the tax benefits of the charitable contribution, or bargain sale, of a conservation easement. It provides a detailed explanation of the complex and extensive requirements of the federal tax code and related concepts, including the rules governing the operation of tax-exempt organizations such as land trusts. Clearly written, systematic in its coverage, it is intended to be of value for anyone who deals with land trust issues, including land trust staff and trustees, landowners, lawyers, accountants, government officials, and interested lay people. Structured for easy reference, A Tax Guide to Conservation Easements is designed to be used as a resource tool. Related topics are cross-referenced throughout. All principles in the book are illustrated with one or more useful examples. The tax benefits of contributing a conservation easement are unquestionably the heart of voluntary land conservation today. Knowledge of the tax law relating to land trusts and conservation easements is vital to properly establishing and managing land trusts and to insuring the tax deductibility of conservation easements. The future of voluntary land conservation is dependent on a clear understanding of tax policy. Complete, meticulous, and up to date, A Tax Guide to Conservation Easements is an essential handbook.
Download or read book Conservation Options written by F. Marina Schauffler and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Extinguishing and Amending Tax Deductible Conservation Easements written by Nancy A. McLaughlin and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taxpayers are investing billions of dollars in conservation easements intended to permanently protect unique or otherwise significant land areas or structures through the federal charitable income tax deduction available to easement donors under Internal Revenue Code § 170(h). Astounding amounts of governmental and judicial resources are also being expended to ensure that the easements are not overvalued, that they satisfy elaborate conservation purposes and other threshold requirements, and that the donations are properly substantiated. This enormous up-front investment will be for naught, however, if the purportedly permanent protections prove to be ephemeral because government and nonprofit holders are able to release, sell, swap, or otherwise extinguish the easements in disregard of the restriction on transfer, extinguishment, division of proceeds, and other perpetuity-related requirements in § 170(h) and the Treasury Regulations. The Tax Court's holding in Carpenter v. Commissioner was an important victory for the IRS and the public because it provides some key guidance regarding compliance with § 170(h)'s perpetuity-related requirements. However, Carpenter has also engendered some confusion and speculation, and recent Circuit Court decisions have compounded the problem by undermining the IRS's efforts to enforce the perpetuity-related requirements. This article examines these cases against the backdrop of the legislative history of § 170(h), state law, and public policy. It concludes that clear federal rules regarding the transfer, amendment, and extinguishment of tax-deductible conservation easements are needed because, without such rules, the purportedly perpetual protections will erode over time and the enormous public investment in the easements and the conservation values they are intended to protect for the benefit of future generations will be lost.
Download or read book Environmental Preservation and the Fifth Amendment written by Beckett Cantley and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Successful preservation of environmentally and historically significant property requires the utilization of various innovative land conservation strategies. The government has three alternative land conservation strategies, including (1) using the police power to issue environmental and land use regulations; (2) the use of the eminent domain power over environmentally sensitive lands; and (3) the use of conservation easement programs. The government's use of its inherent police power to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens extends to state and local governments the ability to use zoning and land-use regulations for environmental purposes. Typically, these regulations are used broadly as part of a comprehensive land use plan. The federal government has the power to make environmental laws based on its constitutional powers over commerce and treaty making. However, land use and environmental regulations are often politically difficult since such regulations interfere directly with a private landowners' use of his or her property. Land use and environmental regulations also have the potential to rise to the level of a Fifth Amendment regulatory taking, requiring the payment of just compensation for the loss of property rights by the government to the property owner. Federal, state, and/or local governments may use eminent domain to acquire fee simple title to lands it seeks to preserve. However, the government's use of the eminent domain power may be expensive relative to other alternatives, since just compensation for the land may be high and the eminent domain process may result in long and expensive litigation. Inadequate public funding for acquisitions and political unpopularity also may limit the use of eminent domain. Conservation easements often represent a more politically palatable alternative for land preservation. Despite the inherent incentive problems associated with conservation easement donations, the use of easements as a land conservation method is increasing at an incredible rate - mostly due to the Federal and state tax benefits associated with the donation of conservation easements. Landowners are typically motivated to donate conservation easements by the landowners' desire to forever preserve the character of the land and to receive tax breaks in the forms of state tax credits and/or federal deductions for “qualified conservation contributions”. While most currently created conservation easements are donated, many land trusts and governmental entities are also in the business of purchasing them. Conservation easements may also be created by the use of eminent domain, or by way of exaction. “Exacted” conservation easements generally arise where the government requires that a landowner donate a conservation easement in exchange for the government approving a permit or zoning variance application. While donations and sales of conservation easements are likely to avoid the requirement that the government pay the property holder just compensation, such compensation may need to be paid where the landowner brings an action for inverse condemnation following the creation of an exacted conservation easement. The use of conservation easements can raise constitutional issues where the government seeks to create the easement by way of regulation or exaction. In this article, the author: (1) provides an overview of the different systems of land control; (2) analyzes the ability of a landowner to argue that a regulatory taking has occurred where government land use and/or environmental regulations have greatly diminished the property's value; (3) specifically discusses the landowner's ability to grant or sell a conservation easement as a potential source of value to the landowner that could negate the finding of a sufficient diminution in value necessary to be considered a compensable Fifth Amendment taking; (4) addresses the government's ability to garner a conservation easement through the exercise of its powers of eminent domain; (5) discusses regulatory takings issues specific to conservation easements acquired by exaction and failed government attempts to acquire such conservation easements; and (6) discusses the question of whether the government may exercise its powers of eminent domain to condemn a pre-existing conservation easement held by another government entity.
Download or read book Protecting the Land written by Julie Ann Gustanski and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a property owner and a conservation organization, generally a private nonprofit land trust, that restricts the type and amount of development that can be undertaken on that property. Conservation easements protect land for future generations while allowing owners to retain property rights, at the same time providing them with significant tax benefits. Conservation easements are among the fastest growing methods of land preservation in the United States today. Protecting the Land provides a thoughtful examination of land trusts and how they function, and a comprehensive look at the past and future of conservation easements. The book: provides a geographical and historical overview of the role of conservation easements analyzes relevant legislation and its role in achieving community conservation goals examines innovative ways in which conservation easements have been used around the country considers the links between social and economic values and land conservation Contributors, including noted tax attorney and land preservation expert Stephen Small, Colorado's leading land preservation attorney Bill Silberstein, and Maine Coast Heritage Trust's general counsel Karin Marchetti, describe and analyze the present status of easement law. Sharing their unique perspectives, experts including author and professor of geography Jack Wright, Dennis Collins of the Wildlands Conservancy, and Chuck Roe of the Conservation Trust of North Carolina offer case studies that demonstrate the flexibility and diversity of conservation easements. Protecting the Land offers a valuable overview of the history and use of conservation easements and the evolution of easement-enabling legislation for professionals and citizens working with local and national land trusts, legal advisors, planners, public officials, natural resource mangers, policymakers, and students of planning and conservation.
Download or read book Conservation Covenants written by Great Britain. Law Commission and published by Stationery Office/Tso. This book was released on 2014 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this report, the Law Commission make recommendations for the introduction of a new statutory scheme of conservation covenants in England and Wales. The recommendations to introduce such a scheme would create a new legal tool, enabling landowners to protect land in order to conserve and restore our natural and built environment. Conservation covenants would allow landowners voluntarily to create binding obligations on their own land to meet a conservation objective, such as preserving woodland, cultivating a particular species of plant or protecting a habitat for an animal, or farming land in a certain way. The proposed statutory scheme would give individual landowners the opportunity, using private agreements, to contribute to conservation efforts being made across England and Wales. The scheme will create a versatile, simple and cost-effective legal tool capable of: unlocking currently missed conservation opportunities by overcoming the legal difficulties faced when creating binding obligations; facilitating better ways to deliver existing conservation objectives; and providing assurance of long-term conservation benefits. The report includes a draft Conservation Covenants Bill, which would introduce the conservation covenant scheme into the law of England and Wales.
Download or read book The Conservation Easement Handbook written by Janet Diehl and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Amending Perpetual Conservation Easements written by Nancy A. McLaughlin and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Federal and state legisla ...
Download or read book Riparian Areas written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2002-10-10 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that wetlands be protected from degradation because of their important ecological functions including maintenance of high water quality and provision of fish and wildlife habitat. However, this protection generally does not encompass riparian areasâ€"the lands bordering rivers and lakesâ€"even though they often provide the same functions as wetlands. Growing recognition of the similarities in wetland and riparian area functioning and the differences in their legal protection led the NRC in 1999 to undertake a study of riparian areas, which has culminated in Riparian Areas: Functioning and Strategies for Management. The report is intended to heighten awareness of riparian areas commensurate with their ecological and societal values. The primary conclusion is that, because riparian areas perform a disproportionate number of biological and physical functions on a unit area basis, restoration of riparian functions along America's waterbodies should be a national goal.
