Rivermont Homeowners Protect Park,

Chattahoochee With Conservation Casement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – A diverse community of more than 900 homeowners came together to protect a 27.4 acre park on the Chattahoochee River with a conservation easement.  The conservation easement will protect the neighborhood park — and the natural beauty, crucial water quality, and wildlife and fisheries habitat on one of the south’s most bio-diverse watersheds.

 

The Rivermont Community Association made official the conservation easement agreement with Georgia Land Trust on Dec. 20, when the signed agreement was filed at the Fulton County courthouse. The agreement protects in perpetuity the neighborhood’s Chattahoochee riverside park from development.

 

The forested park located off Barnwell Road is a natural picnic area on a picturesque bend in the Chattahoochee River. With easy access to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and the walking trails of the Jones Bridge National Recreation Area, the Rivermont Park has long been a favorite family gathering spot for residents of the 920-member Rivermont community. Amid the bottomland hardwood and mixed pine-oak-hickory forest, the park has a canoe launch, barbecue grills, exercise stations, a children’s playground and picnic tables and park benches.

 

More than the required 66.7 percent of the homeowners voted yes to the conservation easement agreement, as co-owners of the park, said Janet Busse, board of directors member and park chairman, who initiated the conservation easement project.

 

The conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner (easement donor) and a qualified conservation organization (easement holder) in which the owner voluntarily agrees to restrict the type of development that can occur on the land. A conservation easement agreement allows the landowner to preserve the property’s conservation and historic values, as defined by federal tax code, while allowing for traditional land use patterns, which in this case are scenic and recreational.

 

In a conservation easement agreement, the landowner retains ownership of the property, but “donates” the development value as a conservation easement donor to a land trust. As holder of the conservation easement, Georgia Land Trust documented the land’s current status in an 85-page baseline documentation report and will monitor the easement at least annually to assure compliance with the easement’s restrictions.

 

Conservation easement donations can reduce estate, income and property taxes for the landowner, but tax incentives were not the primary driver for the Rivermont Community Association.

 

“Rivermont is a subdivision that wants our park to remain a green space as opposed to it being developed,” Busse said.

 

She said the Rivermont community subdivision was incorporated in 1974 as an eco-friendly neighborhood. As the subdivision was developed with single-family homes, condominiums and cluster homes, structures were situated with an eye toward minimal footprints and tree cutting, “largely leaving a canopy of trees intact on the lots.”

 

The accomplishment of protecting the park belongs to “Rivermont homeowners who voted to give up the prospect of commercial development of this property in favor of keeping it in its very beautiful natural state, and to the board of directors who have supported the project from its inception,” said 14-year Rivermont community resident John Kohler, who is a former board of directors member and former park chairman.

 

The project to protect the neighborhood park with a conservation easement began in late spring of 2009 by Busse, who soon found Georgia Land Trust’s Josh Holmes, program director for Alabama and northwest Georgia for the state-certified land trust.  Holmes answered questions and guided the group through the process. After the Rivermont board approved of the idea of the conservation easement, a town hall meeting was held, which Holmes attended.

 

A committee including Busse, Kohler, Shirlee McKinnon, Bob Ayers, Holly Hollister, Jim Medlin and Herb Schall worked to get the vote in after ballots were mailed out.

 

“Over 50 percent of the votes came in on the first mailing of the ballot. After that, Shirlee, Holly, John and I collected ballots at entrances in high heat and eventually spent weekends walking door to door to collect ballots from those who forgot to mail them in,” Busse said.

 

Kohler gives credit to the “unfailing commitment of Janet Busse, our current park chair,” for the conservation easement becoming reality.

 

 “Many of us thought this would be a good idea, but it took true dedication, dogged determination, and many days of going door to door to actually secure the votes needed to make it a reality. Janet did the research, drew up a plan of action and corralled and prodded all of us who shared this goal to make it happen,” Kohler said. “Our park is a very special place. I am proud of our community for taking this step.”

 

Georgia Land Trust Executive Director Katherine Eddins said the Rivermont Community Association may be the largest group of landowners to come together to do one conservation easement with Georgia Land Trust. “That and the beauty of this park and the importance of this watershed make this conservation easement special,” Eddins said. “The easement protects more than 1,500 feet of frontage on the Chattahoochee River, which is a high priority and bio-diverse watershed, plus about 700 feet of streamside frontage, protection that benefits the entire community, county and state with improved water quality, and wildlife and fisheries habitat.”

About Georgia Land Trust

Georgia Land Trust, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) conservation organization headquartered in Savannah, Ga. dedicated to protecting land for present and future generations, primarily by helping private landowners establish conservation easements on family and investment lands. Georgia Land Trust protects more than 102,000 acres in Georgia. Georgia Land Trust, Inc. and its affiliate organizations, including Alabama Land Trust, Inc. and founding organization The Chattowah Open Land Trust, Inc., permanently safeguard more than 160,000 acres of land with more than 450 conservation easements, thereby protecting more private land than any other regional conservation group in the southeast. Learn more at www.galandtrust.org 

###

 To download Rivermont news release:

release glt rivermont protects riverside park, 12.10,

   

NEWS RELEASE, December 17, 2010

 

Land Trusts Applaud Renewal

of Conservation Tax Incentive

 

SAVANNAH - Congress just renewed a tax incentive for private landowners—especially working family farmers and forest landowners—who protect their land with a voluntary conservation agreement.  The incentive, which had expired at the end of 2009, brings back enhanced tax incentives for landowners.

Conservation-minded landowners now have until December 31, 2011 to take advantage of a significant tax deduction for donating a voluntary conservation agreement to permanently protect important natural or historic resources on their land.  When landowners donate a conservation easement to Georgia Land Trust or Alabama Land Trust, they maintain ownership and management of their land and can sell or pass the land on to their heirs, while foregoing future development rights. 

The enhanced incentive applies to a landowner’s federal income tax.  It:

– Raises the deduction a donor can take for donating a voluntary conservation agreement from 30 percent of their income in any year to 50 percent;

– Allows farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100 percent of their income; and

 – Increases the number of years over which a donor can take deductions from 6 to 16 years.

 

“All our communities win when thoughtful landowners conserve their land this way, protecting wildlife habitat, clean drinking water, scenic landscapes, recreational spaces, and productive agricultural lands,” said Katherine Eddins, executive director of Georgia Land Trust and Alabama Land Trust.

 “Conservation agreements have become an important tool nationally for protecting our watersheds, farms and forests, increasing the pace of private land conservation by a third – to more than a million acres a year.”

According to the Land Trust Alliance, the national organization that provides a voice for land trusts in Washington, D.C., bills to make this incentive permanent have 274 House and 41 Senate co-sponsors from all 50 states, including majorities of Democrats and Republicans in the House. This legislation is supported by more than 60 national agricultural, sportsmen’s, and conservation organizations.

 

To learn more about the enhanced incentive visit: www.galandtrust.org or www.lta.org/easementincentive.

 

About Georgia Land Trust

Georgia Land Trust, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) conservation organization headquartered in Savannah, Ga. dedicated to protecting land for present and future generations, primarily by helping private landowners establish conservation easements on family and investment lands. Georgia Land Trust protects more than 102,000 acres in Georgia. Georgia Land Trust, Inc. and its affiliate organizations, including Alabama Land Trust, Inc. and founding organization The Chattowah Open Land Trust, Inc., permanently safeguard more than 160,000 acres of land with more than 450 conservation easements, thereby protecting more private land than any other regional conservation group in the southeast. Learn more at www.galandtrust.org

 

About Alabama Land Trust

The Alabama Land Trust, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) conservation organization dedicated to protecting land for present and future generations by helping private landowners protect land, primarily through conservation easements. Alabama Land Trust protects more than 58,000 acres in Alabama. The Alabama Land Trust and its affiliate organizations, including the Georgia Land Trust, Inc. and founding organization, The Chattowah Open Land Trust, Inc., permanently safeguard more than 160,000 acres of land with more than 450 conservation easements. Our combined land trusts protect more private land than any other regional conservation organization in the Southeast.  Learn more about our land trusts and conservation easements at www.galandtrust.org.

###

 

 

                                                 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   

October 20, 2010         

 CONTACT:

Judi Spann, Plum Creek: 850.681.3200

                       

PLUM CREEK AND GEORGIA LAND TRUST PERMANENTLY CONSERVE MORE THAN 5,000 ACRES OF SOUTHERN GEORGIA COASTLINE

Partners Celebrate Conservation Agreement

 

(LIBERTY COUNTY, GA) – Plum Creek and Georgia Land Trust today announced an agreement to conserve 5,285 acres of Plum Creek’s Liberty County property by establishing the Jelks Pasture Conservation Easement. This historic easement will permanently protect the unique marshes, hammocks and tidal estuaries of Georgia’s Southern Coastal Plains and the fish, wildlife and plants that inhabit this delicate ecosystem.

Plum Creek voluntarily donated this easement which will provide permanent, natural habitat throughout the Jelks Pasture area for high-priority species and ecosystems as defined by the Georgia Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy. The company, which will continue to own the land, has agreed to protect its ecological, recreational and historic values and to keep it in an undeveloped state. As the easement holder, Georgia Land Trust will monitor the property to ensure the established conditions of the easement are met.

“Plum Creek has a strong history of conservation, and we are pleased to partner to conserve this environmental treasure for the benefit of public interest and enjoyment,” said Jim Kilberg, senior vice president of real estate for Plum Creek.  ”By partnering with Georgia Land Trust, the Georgia Conservancy and a number of other public and private partners, we will protect this special place for the enjoyment of generations to come.”

Plum Creek, which owns more than 350,000 acres in Coastal Georgia and 28,600 acres in Liberty County, has committed more than 1.3 million acres of lands to conservation outcomes across the country.

“This Plum Creek conservation easement-with its size, environmental values and sheer beauty-is an example of a company successfully balancing the need for community growth with the need to protect the most fragile of natural resources,” said Katherine Eddins, executive director of Georgia Land Trust. “The benefits of this conservation easement-cleaner water and air, soil quality, enhanced wildlife and fisheries habitat in healthy watersheds-extend beyond the boundaries of the protected land and provide everlasting, measureable value to people and communities.”

The Georgia Land Trust safeguards watersheds, soil and water quality, and wildlife habitat across more than 102,000 acres through easements on private lands across the state of Georgia. 

Jelks Pasture Tract History

The known history of the Jelks tract goes back to Colonial times, a portion of which was under the ownership of Ben Law (1719-1803).  Numerous tracts and separate owners comprise what is now the Jelks Pasture tract.  Beginning in 1902, Ogden John Olmstead (1858-1934) began assembling several properties for the purposes of running cattle, farming, and timber production. In all, there were at least 22 separate tracts assembled of approximately 11,000 acres of marsh and high ground.  Some of these tracts included the Myrtle Grove Plantation, the Deal Place, the Ben Law tract, the Jackson & Ashmore lands and many more.  With this assemblage, the tract came to be known as the Olmstead Pasture.  Olmstead resided in Hinesville and was the manager of a naval stores company.  Upon his death in 1934, the 11,000-acre tract was passed to his children, each receiving a one-eighth interest in the property. In 1945, Eunice Dasher Olmstead (1900-1963) purchased all the shares of the property from the siblings of her husband, O.J. Olmstead, Jr. and the property stayed in the family until it was sold by Mary Olmstead Rogers and Almeida Olmstead Jelks to the Brunswick Pulp and Paper Company in 1967. Subsequently, Brunswick was merged with Georgia Pacific, and ultimately Plum Creek Timber Company.  David Augustus Jelks survives as the remaining named family member and the new conservation easement is named “Jelks Pasture” in the honor of his family. David and Marlene Jelks still live on the western edge of the property.

 

###

 

Georgia Land Trust

Georgia Land Trust, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) conservation organization headquartered in Savannah, Ga. dedicated to protecting land for present and future generations, primarily by helping private landowners establish conservation easements on family and investment lands. Georgia Land Trust, Inc. and its affiliate organizations, including Alabama Land Trust, Inc. and founding organization The Chattowah Open Land Trust, Inc., permanently safeguard more than 159,000 acres of land with more than 450 conservation easements, thereby protecting more private land than any other regional conservation group in the southeast. Georgia Land Trust protects more than 102,000 acres in Georgia. Learn more at www.galandtrust.org.

 

Plum Creek

Plum Creek is the largest and most geographically diverse private landowner in the nation with approximately 7 million acres of timberlands in major timber producing regions of the United States and wood products manufacturing facilities in the Northwest. The company is proud to have committed more than 1.3 million acres to conservation outcomes in the United States. For more information, visit www.plumcreek.com.

 

Download this full news release:

FINAL Jelks News Release Oct 18

 

Two-page factsheet on Jelks Pature Conservation Easement:

PC-factsheet-JelksPasture_v1b

 

  

Georgia Land Trust featured on Southern Exposure in Rome, Ga.

Check out this video about Georgia Land Trust’s land protection work in and around Rome, Ga., as featured on Southern Exposure, on Rome Channel 4, a public service of the Floyd County-Rome Library. Click on videos, Southern Exposure, Land Trust.

http://www.romelibrary.org/video.html

 

 

Tax incentives benefit conservation work

Learn more about the benefits and success of conservation easements in protecting land and watersheds. Read this editorial from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, written by Larry Wills, conservation easement donor and free-lance writer.

ajc 5.3.10 Tax incentives for land conservation work

 

Protecting the best: Wildlife Habitat

Conservation in Northwest Georgia

A recent report by The Open Space Institute highlights conservation work in northwest Georgia, a success story in which Georgia Land Trust played a major role.

Here is the link to the publication, Protecting the Best: Wildlife Habitat Conservation in Northwest Georgia, which outlines the work of the  Northwest Georgia Land Protection Fund, created in 2007 in part with capital contributions from the Lyndhurst and Benwood foundations.

The fund provided grants and loans to protect ecologically significant landscapes in a million-acre region in the northwest corner of Georgia, a center of biodiversity in the southern Appalachians. Several of the resulting permanent conservation easements were completed by Georgia Land Trust.

We at Georgia Land Trust are excited and proud to be a part of this successful program, managed by OSI and funded by top conservation Foundations.

 Protecting the Best: Wildlife Habitat Conservation in Northwest Georgia

 

Buffers matter to wildlife, water, the mililtary

As forests and fields outside Fort Benning make way for more houses and businesses, conflicts over noise, smoke, lights and radio signal interference increase. The result is encroachment that could interfere with the Maneuver Center’s training mission. Additionally, wildlife habitat is lost and land management options, such as prescribed burns to prevent catastrophic wildfires, are limited.

Read more at: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2010/04/08/1080422/why-a-buffer-matters.html?storylink=addthis#ixzz0kc5w6K6l