As recently as twenty years ago, there was very little permanently protected conservation land along the Taunton River. The river’s 2009 designation as a Wild and Scenic River, and the study process leading to the designation, has served as a powerful catalyst for land protection efforts along the river and its major tributaries. A wide variety of public and private entities, including municipalities, state agencies, and land trusts, have collaborated on multiple land preservation projects, including the projects summarized below. These collaborations have resulted in the protection of over 1500 acres that include significant examples of the six “Outstanding Resource Values ” identified in the river’s Stewardship Plan, including Ecology and Biological Diversity, Agriculture, Recreation, and History and Archaeology.
Conserve Your Land: Land Protection Options
Preserving your land is a significant action that can provide tangible financial and estate planning benefits for you and your family. Just as importantly for most landowners, preserving family land can provide peace of mind, and the knowledge that you have made a meaningful and enduring contribution to the preservation of the Taunton River watershed’s ecology and scenic beauty.
LAND DONATIONS: Donating your land ensures its permanent protection while relieving you of all the responsibilities of ownership, including management, liability, and property tax obligations. Donating land may also provide you with income tax and estate tax benefits, and is the simplest and most efficient method of land protection.
CONSERVATION RESTRICTIONS: Conservation Restrictions (“CR’s”) are binding legal agreements that limit future uses of the land to certain activities, including forestry, agriculture, ecological restoration, and the creation and maintenance of hiking trails, while prohibiting residential and commercial development and other activities that would adversely affect the property’s ecological values. Many landowners find CR’s to be the land protection strategy of choice because they help them achieve their preservation objectives while allowing them to retain ownership and management of their land, and the right to it or pass it on to heirs. Donating a CR may also generate federal tax benefits.
LAND PURCHASES: While nonprofit conservation organizations have limited financial resources, they sometimes do purchase land, particularly if it possesses significant conservation value and is a high priority for preservation. To maximize the prospects for successful outcomes, land trusts often partner with other entities on projects involving land purchases, including local and state agencies, and particularly those .communities that have adopted the Community Preservation Act (“CPA”). The CPA provides communities with a dedicated fund for open space purchases, and numerous towns in the Taunton River watershed have used CPA funds to help achieve substantial conservation outcomes.
In contrast to a sale at or near a property’s full market value, a so-called “Bargain Sale” is part sale and part donation, entitling the seller/donor to an income tax deduction based on the difference between the sale price and the fair market value as determined by an independent qualified appraisal. Bargain sales can thus help land trusts and public agencies make optimal use of limited funds available for land preservation, while generating potential tax benefits for a landowner.
LIFE ESTATES: The donation of a life estate or “gift of remainder interest” allows you the right to continue using and enjoying the property during your lifetime, or for some agreed-upon period of time. Donating a life estate may generate a tax deduction in the year of the donation, but the tax benefit is typically less than for an outright donation.
BEQUESTS: Donating land through a bequest entitles you to continue owning and enjoying your land during your lifetime, while providing you with the assurance that it will be protected in the future. The donor remains responsible for maintenance and real estate taxes on the property, but removing land from an estate can significantly reduce inheritance taxes. It is relatively simple to prepare a bequest, or to amend it if your circumstances or intentions change. It is advisable to discuss a proposed bequest of a land donation with a recipient organization before its inclusion in a will.
DEED RESTRICTIONS: Placing a term deed restriction (“DR”) on your property may protect some of its features and limit activities that would adversely affect its conservation values. However, it is the least-preferred option in the land protection “toolbox”, as it does not run with a property’s title in perpetuity and can be rendered unenforceable under certain conditions. Under Massachusetts Law, a DR may run with a property’s title for no more than thirty years, and the DR holder must re-record it at the Registry of Deeds prior to its expiration to extend its coverage. DR’s do not generate income or estate tax benefits because of their non-perpetual tenure.
MASSACHUSETTS STATE TAX CREDIT: Landowners with eligible land may qualify for up to $75,000 in refundable tax credits from Massachusetts, in addition to federal deductions cited above, for land gifts, conservation restrictions and charitable sales. Since its inception in 2011, the Conservation Land Tax Credit Program, or “CLTC” Program, has proven very popular with landowners across the state, and has helped advance the protection of many ecologically significant properties in the Taunton River watershed.
Note: The information contained above is offered solely as a resource to landowners and others interested in land preservation. You should always consult a tax attorney and/or accountant before making any decisions involving your land.
There are multiple land conservation organizations active in the Taunton River watershed, including two that serve on the Taunton River Stewardship Council—The Nature Conservancy and Wildlands Trust. Land protection staff at these and the other organizations listed below can help you to evaluate your options and prepare a plan to protect your property’s conservation values and achieve your preservation objectives.
For more information, contact:
The Great River Preserve along the upper Taunton River in Bridgewater, protected in 2009 through a partnership of the Mass. Division of Fish and Game and Wildlands Trust. Photo credit: Jerry Monkman/EcoPhotography
Land Protection Successes
Notable land protection successes in the Taunton River Watershed include:
- Great River Preserve/Taunton River Wildlife Management Area, Bridgewater and Middleboro: 390 acres
- MCI Farm Fields, Bridgewater: 400 acres
- Oxbow Complex, Raynham/Taunton: 174 acres
- Sweets Knoll State Park, Dighton: 56 acres
- Lower Winnetuxet River Corridor: 234 acres
While all concerned can take some measure of satisfaction from these projects, our land protection work is far from over, and efforts continue toward the preservation of many other important landscapes across the Taunton watershed.