Landowner Workshop A Success!

Landowner Workshop
© The Nature Conservancy

On February 19, 2008, approximately 50 landowners and representatives from conservation organizations and agencies throughout Delaware gathered in Georgetown, Delaware to learn more about how estate planning can help them conserve private land and advance their financial goals.

At the workshop, a first-class team of experts in estate planning, real estate law, land use and conservation discussed opportunities for increasing financial benefits associated with private land ownership while also preserving personal lifestyle and natural values now and for generations to come. Specifically, panelists and participants discussed voluntary conservation options that could potentially support landowners’ financial, retirement and estate planning goals.

Highlights of the workshop included a discussion of financial advantages and disadvantages of several possible land protection scenarios, including the implications of selling or donating a conservation easement, selling land to a conservation organization (as well as to a developer), and various methods of structuring land conservation transactions.

The Nature Conservancy in Delaware, with assistance from the Delaware Coastal Management Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension organized the workshop. All workshop attendees received a binder of supporting reference materials that included:

• information about land protection opportunities such as conservation easements and land donations;
• an assessment of the financial benefits and tax implications associated with various land conservation options;
• descriptions of land protection programs, organizations and agencies throughout Delaware that offer assistance to landowners interested in land protection and management; and
• lists of attorneys, accountants and appraisers with expertise in conservation transactions and easements.

By providing such information and working to find cooperative solutions that meet the needs of private landowners, The Nature Conservancy will continue to help protect Delaware’s important and unique landscapes, natural features, and habitat.

For more information about protecting your land or information provided at the workshop, please contact Kate Hackett, Director of Land Protection, at 302-584-2170 or khackett@tnc.org.