Wilhelm Farm

Conservation Options for Landowners

The Land Trust seeks to protect Granby’s Natural Heritage through the protection and conservation of Granby’s open spaces.  We use three basic conservation options to achieve this goal:

  • Accepting donations of conservation easements
  • Accepting donations of land
  • Purchasing land through a bargain sale

In each case, we work closely, cooperatively and confidentially with landowners to develop the most appropriate conservation program for your property.

Deciding to conserve your land requires a careful, thorough consideration of your family's interests for the future of the property. Our land protection experts and your own legal and financial counsel can help you identify the appropriate conservation option for you, but only you have the power to permanently protect the scenic beauty, wildlife habitats, and valuable natural resources of your land.

If you are interested in exploring these conservation options for your property, please contact the Granby Land Trust at info@granbylandtrust.org or by calling 860.653.7095.  We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss your interests.

Preserving Granby’s beautiful places is truly one of the finest legacies a family can leave for future generations.

Conservation Easements

A conservation easement (or conservation restriction) is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. It allows you to continue to own and use your land and to sell it or pass it on to heirs.

When you donate a conservation easement to a land trust, you give up some of the rights associated with the land. For example, you might give up the right to build additional structures, while retaining the right to grow crops. Future owners also will be bound by the easement's terms. The land trust is responsible for making sure the easement's terms are followed.

Conservation easements offer great flexibility. An easement on property containing rare wildlife habitat might prohibit any development, for example, while one on a farm might allow continued farming and the building of additional agricultural structures. An easement may apply to just a portion of the property, and need not require public access.

A landowner sometimes sells a conservation easement, but usually easements are donated. If the donation benefits the public by permanently protecting important conservation resources and meets other federal tax code requirements--it can qualify as a tax-deductible charitable donation. The amount of the donation is the difference between the land's value with the easement and its value without the easement.

Placing an easement on your property may also result in property tax savings.

Perhaps most important, a conservation easement can be essential for passing land on to the next generation. By removing the land's development potential, the easement lowers its market value, which in turn lowers estate tax. Whether the easement is donated during life or by will, it can make a critical difference in the heirs' ability to keep the land intact.

Land Donation

Donating land for conservation purposes is truly one of the finest legacies a person can leave to future generations. It may be the best conservation strategy for you if you do not wish to pass the land on to heirs; own property you no longer use; own highly appreciated property; have substantial real estate holdings and wish to reduce estate tax burdens; or would like to be relieved of the responsibility of managing and caring for land.

Donating land releases you from the responsibility of managing the land and can provide substantial income tax deductions and estate tax benefits (while avoiding any capital gains taxes that would have resulted from selling the property). Most important, if the land is donated because of its conservation value, it will be protected. (Although our focus here is on conservation land, commercial and residential properties can also be donated to a land trust, with the understanding that the organization will sell the land to support its conservation work.)

Donating a remainder interest in land

An outright donation is not the only way to give land. You can continue to live on the land by donating a remainder interest and retaining a reserved life estate. In this arrangement, you donate the property during your lifetime, but continue to live on and use the property. When you die (or sooner if you choose), the land trust gains full title and control over the property.

By donating a remainder interest, you can continue to enjoy your land and may be eligible for an income tax deduction when the gift is made. The deduction is based on the fair market value of the donated property less the expected value of the reserved life estate.

Donating land by will

If you want to own and control your land during your lifetime, but assure its protection after your death, you can donate it by will. You should make sure the chosen recipient is willing and able to receive the gift.

Land donations that establish a life income

If you have land you would like to protect by donating it to a land trust, but need to receive income during your lifetime, you might use a charitable gift annuity. In a charitable gift annuity, you agree to transfer certain property to a charity, and the charity agrees to make regular annuity payments to one or two beneficiaries you specify for life.

Your gift of land usually qualifies for a charitable income tax deduction at the time of the gift, based on the value of the land less the expected value of the annuity payments.

Another option for donating property and receiving regular income is a charitable remainder unitrust. You place the land in a trust, first putting a conservation easement on it if it is to be protected. Then the trustee sells the land and invests the net proceeds from the sale. One or more beneficiaries you specify receive payments each year for a fixed term or for life, then the trustee turns the remaining funds in the trust over to the land trust.

The gift qualifies for a charitable income tax deduction when the land is put in the trust, based on the value of the land less the expected value of the payments.

Charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder unitrusts are most useful for highly appreciated land, the sale of which would incur high capital gains tax.

Bargain Sale of Land

Because real estate is expensive and we must raise funds for land purchases from our membership, purchasing land is not our general practice. However, in some instances, the Land Trust will purchase properties with exceptional conservation values. When we do decide to purchase land, we negotiate on a voluntary basis with the landowner for either a "fair market" price or a "bargain sale" price.

If you need to realize some immediate income from selling your land, yet would like the property to go to a land trust, a bargain sale might be the answer. In a bargain sale, you sell the land to a land trust for less than its fair market value. This not only makes it more affordable for the land trust, but offers several benefits to you: it provides cash, avoids some capital gains tax, and entitles you to a charitable income tax deduction based on the difference between the land's fair market value and its sale price.

* Certain conservation option information reprinted from Land Trust Alliance materials.

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12 hours ago

Show your love 💚 for nature by joining the Granby Land Trust in our Third Annual 🌎 Earth Day Roadside Cleanup, April 18 - 22! Last year, you helped us pick up more than 1,500 pounds of trash along Granby's roadsides. Let’s do even more ⬆️ this year! This is a DIY event. You simply choose the street or neighborhood you'd like to tidy, then shoot us an email at info@granbylandtrust.org to let us know where you plan to work so we can track our reach. You provide the manpower; we’ll provide the dumpster. Spend however much time you like. And remember: many hands make light work. Invite your family, neighborhood friends, book club, nonprofit organization, youth group, sports team, church group, or any other group to get involved and make a positive impact on our town! Send us a photo (at info@granbylandtrust.org) so we can use it to inspire others. Post a pic on your own social media to inspire your friends. And once you’re done, if you’re over 21, you’re invited to Lost Acres Vineyard for a free glass of wine (go to granbylandtrust.org to learn more). Let’s make a difference on Earth Day 2024! 🙏

#Trashtag #GreatGlobalCleanup #Earthday #CleanupGranby #NorthGranbyCT #WestGranby #GranbyCT #LoveYourCTLandTrust #MyHappyPlace #Land4All #LandTrust #GranbyLandTrust
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Show your love 💚 for nature by joining the Granby Land Trust in our Third Annual 🌎 Earth Day Roadside Cleanup, April 18 - 22! Last year, you helped us pick up more than 1,500 pounds of trash along Granbys roadsides. Let’s do even more ⬆️ this year! This is a DIY event. You simply choose the street or neighborhood youd like to tidy, then shoot us an email at info@granbylandtrust.org to let us know where you plan to work so we can track our reach. You provide the manpower; we’ll provide the dumpster. Spend however much time you like. And remember: many hands make light work. Invite your family, neighborhood friends, book club, nonprofit organization, youth group, sports team, church group, or any other group to get involved and make a positive impact on our town! Send us a photo (at info@granbylandtrust.org) so we can use it to inspire others. Post a pic on your own social media to inspire your friends. And once you’re done, if you’re over 21, you’re invited to Lost Acres Vineyard for a free glass of wine (go to granbylandtrust.org to learn more). Let’s make a difference on Earth Day 2024! 🙏
 
#Trashtag #GreatGlobalCleanup #Earthday #CleanupGranby #NorthGranbyCT #WestGranby #GranbyCT #LoveYourCTLandTrust #MyHappyPlace #Land4All #LandTrust #GranbyLandTrust
3 days ago

View of the GLT’s Mary Edwards Mountain Property from last Saturday. The property’s elevation produced an icy but very beautiful scene. Photo submitted by GLT Member Austin White.

#MaryEdwards #MaryEdwardsMountainProperty #GranbyCT #NorthGranbyCT #WestGranby #LoveYourCTLandTrust #MyHappyPlace #Land4All #LandTrust #GranbyLandTrust
... See MoreSee Less

View of the GLT’s Mary Edwards Mountain Property from last Saturday. The property’s elevation produced an icy but very beautiful scene. Photo submitted by GLT Member Austin White.

#MaryEdwards #MaryEdwardsMountainProperty #GranbyCT #NorthGranbyCT #WestGranby #LoveYourCTLandTrust #MyHappyPlace #Land4All #LandTrust #GranbyLandTrust
4 days ago

These kids rock! Members of the Granby Land Trust Youth Conservation Corps, along with a good showing of GLT members, came out in force on Sunday afternoon to help maintain the trails 🥾⛏️ at the Dismal Brook Wildlife Preserve in North Granby. The day was cold and the work was dirty, but that didn't slow this crew down 🔥! They worked on improving the trails, building stone walkways over wet areas, installing and cleaning out water gutters to redirect seasonal waterflow, and did general maintenance to improve the trail experience. We are so grateful 🙏 for our volunteers -- especially these kids -- for their willingness to spend 2+ hours of their weekend giving back to the community. Come check out all they accomplished, and if you see them around town, thank them for their efforts 👏! To learn more about the Youth Conservation Corps, go to granbylandtrust.org.

#volunteers #teenvolunteers #givingback #communityservice #CTconservation #ctlandconservationcouncil #LoveYourCTLandTrust #GranbyLandTrust #granbyct #NorthGranbyCT #westgranbyct #myhappyplace
... See MoreSee Less

These kids rock! Members of the Granby Land Trust Youth Conservation Corps, along with a good showing of GLT members, came out in force on Sunday afternoon to help maintain the trails 🥾⛏️ at the Dismal Brook Wildlife Preserve in North Granby. The day was cold and the work was dirty, but that didnt slow this crew down 🔥! They worked on improving the trails, building stone walkways over wet areas, installing and cleaning out water gutters to redirect seasonal waterflow, and did general maintenance to improve the trail experience. We are so grateful 🙏 for our volunteers -- especially these kids -- for their willingness to spend 2+ hours of their weekend giving back to the community. Come check out all they accomplished, and if you see them around town, thank them for their efforts 👏! To learn more about the Youth Conservation Corps, go to granbylandtrust.org.
 
#Volunteers #TeenVolunteers #GivingBack #CommunityService #CTConservation #CTLandConservationCouncil #LoveYourCTLandTrust #GranbyLandTrust #GranbyCT #NorthGranbyCT #WestGranbyCT #MyHappyPlace
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