Hello Easement Landowners! I’m happy to introduce to you the Stewardship Journal, Triangle Land Conservancy’s brand new newsletter exclusively for you, our easement landowners. As it currently stands, many of you hear from TLC regarding your conservation easement once a year when it is time to schedule your annual monitoring visit. Sure once-annual contact about your easement is sufficient, but we view our relationship with you as hugely important, and we want to invest in it a little more. is newsletter is our first step! You will receive the Stewardship Journal twice a year in winter and summer. One of those times the envelope will also include the easement access notice you already receive every year. If we typically visit your property in the spring, you will receive your letter with the winter edition and vice versa for the fall. Our Stewardship Associate, Laura Stroud, will still be giving you a call to arrange the specific time and date of your visit. is newsletter is for landowners only and we want it to be full of information that is useful to you. In this issue, you can read about forestry and conservation plans, which are typically required in our newer easements, but are also useful tools for any landowner undertaking forestry or agriculture. You can learn about North Carolina’s Wildlife Conservation Land Program which allows for decreased property taxes on qualifying acreage. We’ll also introduce you to local land management professionals, fellow TLC easement landowners, and provide space for announcements and events. What you won’t find in these pages is an appeal for a donation. You have already generously given in a very special way to TLC. We may occasionally remind you that as a membership-based organization, TLC depends on donations to keep our office doors open and staff in the field. But, the main purpose of our Stewardship Journal is to build our relationship with you. As always, our doors and phone lines are open if ever you have questions about TLC, your easement, or anything else land related. We are happy to answer your inquiries or direct you to someone else who can help. ank you for all you do, Stewardship Journal WINTER 2016 A newsletter for landowners of properties protected by conservation easements Sandy Sweitzer Executive Director, Triangle Land Conservancy
Transcript
Hello Easement Landowners!
I’m happy to introduce to you the Stewardship Journal, Triangle Land Conservancy’s brand new newsletter exclusively for you, our easement landowners. As it currently stands, many of you hear from TLC regarding your conservation easement once a year when it is time to schedule your annual monitoring visit. Sure once-annual contact about your easement is sufficient, but we view our relationship with you as hugely important, and we want to invest in it a little more. This newsletter is our first step!
You will receive the Stewardship Journal twice a year in winter and summer. One of those times the envelope will also include the easement access notice you already receive every year. If we typically visit your property in the spring, you will receive your letter with the winter edition and vice versa for the fall. Our Stewardship Associate, Laura Stroud, will still be giving you a call to arrange the specific time and date of your visit.
This newsletter is for landowners only and we want it to be full of information that is useful to you. In this issue, you can read about forestry and conservation plans, which are typically required in our newer easements, but are also useful tools for any landowner undertaking forestry or agriculture. You can learn about North Carolina’s Wildlife Conservation Land Program which allows for decreased property taxes on qualifying acreage. We’ll also introduce you to local land management professionals, fellow TLC easement landowners, and provide space for announcements and events.
What you won’t find in these pages is an appeal for a donation. You have already generously given in a very special way to TLC. We may occasionally remind you that as a membership-based organization, TLC depends on donations to keep our office doors open and staff in the field. But, the main purpose of our Stewardship Journal is to build our relationship with you.
As always, our doors and phone lines are open if ever you have questions about TLC, your easement, or anything else land related. We are happy to answer your inquiries or direct you to someone else who can help.
Thank you for all you do,
Stewardship Journal WINTER 2016
A newsletter for landowners of properties protected by conservation easements
Sandy SweitzerExecutive Director, Triangle Land Conservancy
By placing a conservation easement on your property, you have already taken a huge step in being a good
environmental steward of your property. But there are still immediate land management needs that are not directly addressed in your conservation easement. Working with a forestry professional to create a forest management plan or a forest stewardship plan for your property can help you clearly identify short- and long-term actions to help you meet the goals you have for your property.
There are two types of forestry plans to guide landowners:
a forest management plan tends to emphasize production goals while a forest stewardship plan focuses on wildlife habitat or water quality protection alongside or independent of production goals. TLC recommends all landowners with forested tracts have forest stewardship plans.
Since approximately 2000, TLC easements have required landowners to have a forest management plan in order to conduct forestry activities on eased property. Older easements may not include this requirement, but according to John Howard, a District Forester, having a forest
Forest Management Plans: Required Sometimes, A Good Idea Always
Landowner Resources
You’ve probably heard of North Carolina’s Present Use Value program. You may even know it can reduce
property taxes owed on actively-managed farm and forest lands, but did you know there is a similar program for land managed for wildlife?
In 2010, North Carolina created the Wildlife Conservation Land Program (WCLP). The WCLP is separate from the Present Use Value programs for horticultural, agricultural and forestry land, but is structured in much the same way.
Present Use Value programs work by assessing a property’s tax value based on how the property is presently used, rather than the property’s “highest and best” use. In other words, lands managed for a particular use are assessed as they are, not at a higher land value based on the property’s potential for residential or commercial development.
The programs for agricultural and forest lands require landowners generate income from their property, meaning that a landowner whose primary goal is wildlife habitat management would still be required to harvest timber or farm to maintain compliance with the program. The Wildlife Present Use Valuation does not include an income
generation requirement, but does limit the types of undeveloped or forested lands that qualify.
To qualify, the wildlife conservation property must be at least 20 contiguous acres owned by the same person or family for the previous five years. Landowners can enroll a maximum of 100 acres in the program.
The property must meet at least one of the following criteria to be considered a wildlife conservation land:
1. Demonstrable evidence an animal on North Carolina’s Wildlife Resources Commission list of Endangered, Threatened, or Special Concern list lives on the land (find the list at www.ncwildlife.org/Conserving/Species.aspx)
2. The property is managed for conservation of one or more of the following priority wildlife habitats:
º Longleaf pine habitat º Early-successional habitat º Small wetland community º Stream and riparian zone º Rock outcrop º Bat cave
Land protected by a conservation easement can qualify for the program as long as the taxpayer received less than 75 percent of the property’s fair market value as compensation for the donated easement. Under this stipulation, donated conservation easements qualify for the program.
Enrolling a property in a Present Use Value program like the WCLP places a lien on the property for the difference of what the landowner would have paid in property taxes for the past three years. These taxes become due if the property becomes noncompliant with the program’s requirements.
For more information about the WCLP:• Chatham, Durham, Lee, & Orange counties: Jason Allen,
• Johnston & Wake counties: Greg Batts, District 3 Wildlife Biologist | 919-269-9731 | [email protected]
Wildlife Conservation Land Program (WCLP)
continued on next page...2 | Stewardship Journal Winter 2016
Stream and riparian zones are considered priority wildlife habitats.
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Name: Dale Threatt-TaylorAgency: Wake Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD)Title: District DirectorYears in the Triangle: 34 Years
Describe your job. I provide leadership to a locally-led organization protecting the natural resources, water quality, soil quality, and human quality of life in Wake County.
What services or information do you provide to Triangle-area landowners? We assist landowners with natural resources concerns by evaluating problems, designing engineering and agronomic solutions, and assisting in implementation of best management practices to address their concerns. We utilize state and federal funding to prevent nutrient loading in watersheds, improve soil quality, and support agribusiness economic development.
What has been your biggest professional success in the past year? North Carolina hosted an International Conference for Soil and Water Conservation professionals and we exceeded all expectations! To be President of the North Carolina Chapter welcoming folks from countries across the world and most of the United States, I was grateful to have the opportunity to lead such a wonderful group of conservationists in hosting a successful conference.
We also held our 10th annual Keeping the Farm Workshop in Wake County. Amazingly, 188 farm and forest landowners attended the workshop to learn about valuable resources
that will keep them from losing their farms. In a county with over a million residents, and where the perception is that Wake is only an urban county, it was revealing and exciting to see how important our work is for today’s landowners and future generations.
What are you looking forward to this year? Our 11th annual Keeping the Farm Workshop will be held on March 16. We have new topics that will help landowners keep and maintain their farm and forest lands. We also plan to update the Wake County Voluntary Agriculture District Ordinance. This will allow more landowners to enroll in the program under the new state guidelines.
Is there anything else you’d like TLC’s easement landowners to know? My advice to any farm and forest landowner: you don’t have to give up on any land or farm problem. There are so many resources and people that are willing to help you. Contact Wake Soil and Water Conservation District or the District in your county. If we can’t help you, we will connect you to someone who is able to guide you to a solution.
Contact Dale at 919-250-1068, learn more about the Wake SWCD at www.wakegov.com/swcd, or find your local district at www.ncagr.gov/SWC/findyourdistrict.html.
Q&A: Dale Threatt-Taylor, Wake Soil & Water Conservation District
management plan for your property provides many benefits. Even if you do not plan to harvest your property, a plan
written by a professional forester can help you identify and achieve your management goals.
According to Howard, plans can help qualify landowners for both tax breaks through the Present Use Value program and Ag Cost Share funds that provide financial assistance for working lands infrastructure. Furthermore, a Forest Management or Stewardship Plan can help a landowner understand the species composition of their forest, and the unique challenges that may be present such as vulnerabilities to disease
or insects. Finally, a long-term plan can communicate
a property’s management history and goals to future generations or subsequent owners.
Howard emphasizes that all plans are created in response to a landowner’s unique objectives, including financial needs, timeline, and conservation goals, and the plans include a list of resources to help landowners carry out their objectives.
The NC Forest Service charges a base rate of $45 plus a $3 per acre fee for preparing forest plans. Consulting foresters also provide forestry services to private landowners. To locate a consulting forester serving your location, visit ncforestservice.gov/managing_your_forest/consulting_foresters.htm. For foresters trained to write Forest Stewardship Plans, visit ncforestservice.gov/Managing_your_forest/pdf/fspp/FSPP_Plan_Writers.pdf.
For more information about Forest Management Plans:• Durham, Wake, & Orange counties: John Howard, Dis-
trict 11 Forester | 919-732-8105 | [email protected]• Chatham & Lee counties: Don Watson, District 3 Forester
| 910-997-9224 | [email protected]• Johnston county: Michael Good, District 6 Forester | 910-
Forest Management Plans help easement landowners achieve long-term conservation goals.
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Dale Threatt-Taylor
The Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District will be holding its Keeping the Farm Workshop on March 16, 2016 at the Rural Center in Raleigh. For more information and to register, visit www.wakegov.com/swcd.
Events & Announcements
TLC has “Conservation Easement” signs available for landowners of protected properties. The sign measures 12” x 18”. We’re happy to provide you with these signs to post on your protected property. If interested, please contact Laura Stroud at 919-908-0063 or [email protected].
Signs Available for Landowners Please call us if you:
• would like to set up a specific time for us to monitor your property.
• are selling your property. This will ensure the new owners understand the terms of the conservation easement.
• plan to exercise one of your reserved rights in your conservation easement.
• have a question about your conservation easement or would like a copy of your conservation easement.
• are interested in conservation options for additional land.
As always, please feel free to contact TLC staff for advice or information about your resource protection and management needs.
TLC Staff Contact Information
Leigh Ann Hammerbacher, Associate Director of Conservation & [email protected] | 919-908-0060
Bo Howes, Director of Conservation & [email protected] | 919-908-0052
Matt Rutledge, Associate Manager of [email protected] | 919-908-0057 Laura Stroud, Stewardship & Conservation [email protected] | 919-908-0063
TLC Conservation UpdateTLC closed six land conservation projects in 2015:
1. The Green Button Farm conservation easement in Durham County protects 37 acres of a family farm and 3,200 feet of stream on Mountain Creek, a tributary of the Little River.
2. The Vista Hill conservation easement in Chatham County protects 97 acres of farmland and two headwater streams of Tick Creek, a tributary of the Rocky River.
3. The Nan Ogburn Forest easement in Johnston County protects 75 acres of forested land and 1,300 feet of Middle Creek. It is also adjacent to TLC’s own Middle Creek Bottomlands preserve.
4. The Lindale Farm conservation easement in Chatham County protects 195 acres of a fifth-generation family farm and nearly two miles of streams including the South Fork of Cane Creek.
5. TLC received ownership of 70 forested acres of the Valley Springs property in Durham County. The property protects a tributary of the Eno River and includes important floodplain forest.
6. TLC received ownership of the remaining 20 acres of Morgan Creek Floodplain Forest on the boundary of Durham and Chatham Counties. Surrounded on three sides by conserved land, the 123-acre parcel is also located near an active Bald Eagle nesting area on Jordan Lake.
Upcoming Events
The next Stewardship Journal will be published in August 2016. Please submit stories, events, and announcements to Laura Stroud at 919-908-0063 or [email protected].
