We’re Saving The World
One small piece of land at a time. To date, the Atlantic Coast Conservancy has successfully conserved over one hundred thousand acres of land across the Southeastern U.S. through conservation easements and fee simple donation. This is one of the most current tools in our arsenal which also includes timber management plans and carbon sequestration validation and verification. Can perpetually protecting your forest provide you with a financial benefit above and beyond the federal tax deductions, and state tax credits associated with conservation easements? The Atlantic Coast Conservancy can help with plan that may qualify you for property tax relief. For more information, please contact us at info@atlanticcoastconservancy.org.
Conservation Easements
The most frequently used tool in the land protection arsenal is the conservation easement. A conservation easement is a legal encumbrance — sometimes including a transfer of usage rights — which creates an enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a qualified land protection organization (often called a “land trust”), or a government agency (municipality, county, state, federal), for the purposes of conservation. It restricts real estate development, commercial and industrial uses, and certain other activities on a property to a mutually agreed upon level. The property remains the private property of the landowner.
Land Stewardship
Easement monitoring is the ongoing process of making sure the purpose and restrictions of each individual conservation easement are being upheld. It is a cooperative process between the Atlantic Coast Conservancy and the landowner. Per IRS Code 170 (h), “the land trust monitors its easement properties regularly, at least annually, in a manner appropriate to the size and restrictions of the property, and keeps documentation (such as reports, updated photographs and maps) of each monitoring activity.”
Building Clean Energy Communities
The Atlantic Coast Conservancy is seeking partnership opportunities to connect communities to green energy solutions as part of The EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program. Created as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program provides credits for qualified solar and wind energy facilities with a maximum net output of less than five megawatts.
Learn more:
https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-grants-funding-and-technical-assistance
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1830
Agrivoltaics
Is the science of using land for both agriculture and solar energy generation. By allowing working lands to stay working, agrivoltaic systems could help farms diversify income, provide energy resilience, and reduce carbon footprint.
Agrivoltaics in action:
https://www.coagrivoltaic.org