Congress Extends Tax Break for Land Gifts
May 23, 2008, By Elizabeth Schwinn
The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Washington

      Nonprofit organizations have won an extension of a generous tax incentive for donations of land or historically important property under a law approved by Congress Thursday.
      A two-year extension of the so-called conservation easement deduction was included in a bill to protect farmers, which became law Thursday over President BushÕs veto.
      The provision, created as a temporary, two-year incentive under the Pension Protection Act, expired at the end of last year. Conservation groups, including the Land Trust Alliance Ñ a Washington group with 1,100 member land trusts Ñ lobbied Congress to make the provision permanent, saying it does much to spur donations of property.
      More than a million acres of land have been protected from development as a result of the expanded tax incentive, says Russ Shays, public policy director of the Land Trust Alliance.
      Landowners now have until December 31, 2009, to take advantage of the tax break when they donate ranches, wetlands, forests, and other properties for conservation.
Creative Conservation
Beyond land purchases: other creative ways to protect land

Sometimes the lands we'd like to protect aren't for sale. As a nonprofit, Sempervirens Fund has many methods of creating "win-win conservation contracts" that benefit the landowners and the general public.

Conservation Easements
Sempervirens Fund has negotiated conservation easements that allow us to protect some aspect of the property -- maybe the trees or the development rights -- without buying the property itself. Such easements effectively allow us to ensure that the redwoods on a given property will never be cut. The land owner can live on the property or sell the property, as long as the protective terms of the easement are met.

Trail Easements
We have also worked with private landowners to create trail easements that allow public access that wouldn't otherwise be possible. In one case, following 15 years of negotiation, we were able to reach an agreement that created a brand new trail across private lands owned by Redtree Properties L.P. This trail, named the Basin Trail, connects Big Basin Redwoods State Park with Pescadero Creek County Park to the north. It was the critical piece needed to create a new hiking/horseback riding trail loop that connects open space district lands with county and state parks.

Gifts of Real Estate
Owners of woodland parcels in the Santa Cruz Mountains frequently contact Sempervirens Fund to find out if they can preserve and protect their property in perpetuity by donating it to us. Sometimes this can work, if the parcel is suitable for use as future parkland. But even if unsuitable -- it may be poorly located or overdeveloped, for example -- it may still make sense for the owner to donate it to Sempervirens Fund. The owner can receive a tax-deduction for the fair market value of the land, and Sempervirens Fund can sell the property to raise money to buy new parklands.

Sempervirens Fund accepts gifts of many types of real estate:
  • redwood acreage
  • commercial/industrial property
  • income property
  • residential property
  • vacation property
In addition, Sempervirens Fund works with owners of potential parkland properties to create land use agreements that can protect the land in perpetuity and provide public recreational access while still allowing the property owner to live on the land.
Contact Us -- If you're a property owner with an interest in redwood conservation, please contact us by e-mail or by calling 650-968-4509 and asking to speak to our Executive Director for details.
More Creativity -- Many other avenues exist for supporting Sempervirens Fund's redwood preservation work. For details, click on any of the following links: Gifts of Stock, or Bequests, or Estate Planning. We're looking forward to helping you think creatively about making a 'win-win' contract for conservation.
Donate Now --You can send a tax-deductible contribution to Sempervirens Fund right now. Online. Make it happen. Just click on "Donate Now."
Sempervirens Fund is a nonprofit public charity meeting the requirements of IRS 501(c)(3) and the Public Benefit Corporation Law of the State of California.