With increasing development pressure throughout Ontario and indeed North America, a good deal of productive forestland is being lost to non-forestry uses. It is perceived by many that the highest and best use of the land is not as woodlots but as developments such as strip malls, housing developments and factories. Much of this is driven by property taxes. The concept of land trusts has been seen as a way to stem the tide of land conversion towards development. However, usually land is taken out of forest management, thereby further reducing the supply of available timber and increasing the pressure on remaining woodlots. Conservation easements have been the tool of choice for land protection in the environmental community. However, good forest practices that include harvesting, are compatible with wildlife, recreation and environmental protection and in many cases are required to encourage or enhance our objectives. Conservation easements are a good way to defray the costs of land acquisition and ownership and can keep the forest more productive.
In the United States, advocates of protecting private forestlands through conservation easements have embarked on an innovative project with the New England Forestry Foundation to protect more than 8,500 acres of productive timberland in western Massachusetts and Connecticut. Selling conservation easements on land reduces the costs of land ownership while making it more affordable to support good forest management. Property ownership endows the owner with individual rights. These rights could include the tight to walk or hunt on the land, to harvest trees, build a home, etc. If you hold the title to the land, you are free to exercise any of these rights and you can also sell them or give them away in the form of easement.
A conservation easement removes the development rights on that piece of property, which protects the land from the threat of residential or industrial development. The landowner still owns the property and is free to sell the property as long as the buyer agrees to the conditions of easement. Since the 'highest' value is no longer development, the property value goes down and there is a corresponding reduction of property and estate taxes, making it easier for the landowner to sustainably manage his woodlot. Easements also protect the many public values of private forests that are often taken for granted. Easements allow benefits to property owners in the form of reducing the value of the land. They also allow the landowner to maintain the rural character of the land and to focus on managing the property sustainable for forestry.
Ultimately, the natural resources of the land are permanently protected and are still privately held. For information about land trust in Ontario Please see Creative Conservation: A Handbook for Ontario Land Trusts by Stewart Hilts and Ron Reid.
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