The Wildlands Conservancy will host a Tax Incentive Workshop May 23 on the limited-time tax incentives now available to landowners who preserve their property during 2007.

The workshop will be held at the Monroe County Conservation District, 8050 Running Valley Road, in Monroe County on May 23 from 7:00 to 9:00pm.

The lead speaker at the workshop is Attorney Michael Henry of Gross, McGinley, and LaBarre & Eaton. Attorney Henry specializes in local, state and federal taxation, tax and estate planning, and real estate law. Diane Matthews-Gehringer, Land Preservation Manager for Wildlands Conservancy, will also speak to attendees about preservation options.

The workshop is funded in part by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

To register for the workshop or for more information about the workshops of Wildlands Conservancy, please contact Debra Lermitte at 610-965-4397, ext. 11.

According to the 2003 report by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources entitled Pennsylvania’s Wildlife and Wild Places – Our Outdoor Heritage in Peril, Pennsylvania is losing approximately 350 acres per day to development. Pennsylvania has the fifth highest amount of acreage lost to development but was ranked 48th lowest among all states in population growth during the 1990s.

The landscape of Penn’s Woods is dramatically changing from undeveloped valleys and ridges to residential subdivisions, housing the area’s moving population.

The report continues to say “as private forests and farmland are being converted for housing, the pressures on existing public lands will increase while undeveloped landscapes and open spaces will face increased peril. Wildlife, streams, natural areas, threatened species, recreational opportunities, community vitality, economic health, and our general connections with the outdoors are likely to be adversely affected by the consequences of these mounting pressures on Pennsylvania's natural land base.”

Several tools exist for the preservation of open space. Among the most equitable are conservation easements, which allow a property owner to limit certain uses on all or a portion of a property for conservation purposes while the owner retains possession and control of the land.

In most cases, owners can either receive cash for the sale of the right to develop (with certain state and local programs) or receive credit for donation of development rights. The sale or donation of development rights permanently preserves a piece of property and is binding upon current and future owners. Added incentives for 2007 provide much larger benefits than ever before for those who donate development rights.

Congress added tax incentives for landowners choosing to permanently preserve their land in 2006. Among these changes are provisions raising the income tax deduction allowed a landowner for donating a conservation easement from 30 percent of their adjusted gross income in the year of the donation plus 5 more years, to 50 percent in the year of the donation plus 15 more years.

It also allows qualifying farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to deduct up to 100 percent of their taxable income, e.g., pay no federal income tax, for the year of the donation plus 15 more years.

These added incentives are available only until the end of 2007.

5/18/2007