The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust

"The mission of the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust is to preservethe natural areas, scenic beauty, and green spacesof the Highlands-Cashiers Plateaufor the enjoyment and benefit of the public."

Disappearing Land
In North Carolina more than 155,000 acres of farm land and open spaces are lost each year to development. That's an average of 427 acres of open space a day, or 17 acres an hour lost forever. That is a land area the size of Charlotte, North Carolina, gone each year that will never be restored. Only you can help us protect our natural lands, water quality and wildlife.

How we Work
A land trust works privately with property owners who have a deep love for their land and want to protect it from intrusive development. Some of the ways we conserve natural areas are through:
-Fee simple donations of land to be owned and protected by the land trust forever
-Conservation easements in which property owners donate certain development rights to the land trust forever, while retaining ownership
-Bargain sales of property to the land trust at a reduced price.
All these protection methods may bring considerable tax benefits to property owners.
The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust exists to help property owners and their community save something they love Please contact us to learn how you can leave a natural legacy for the future.

THE CONSERVATION EASEMENT

The conservation agreement is an effective means of conserving land in North Carolina. A conservation agreement or an easement, have been used to protect lands as varied as mountain ridge tops, piedmont river corridors, farms, Christmas tree farms, and coastal beaches. Nearly half of the 225,000 acres protected by Land Trusts in North Carolina are conservation easements. In Highlands and Cashiers, easements have led to the protection of nearly 1,000 acres.
Because conservation agreements have only recently become popular, most landowners are unaware of how useful this land protection tool can be. Conservation agreements enable landowners to preserve their land, maintain ownership of it, and usually realize significant tax savings and reduced property taxes.
What is a conservation agreement? A conservation agreement is a written agreement between a landowner and a qualified conservation organization such as a Land Trust in which the landowner promises to keep the land in its natural condition and the land trust is granted the right to enforce the agreement and to monitor the property.
The conservation agreement is similar to a declaration of restrictive covenants in a subdivision. It contains a series of restrictions relating to various uses of land.
Conservation agreements are intended to preserve property in its natural, undeveloped condition providing a benefit to the public by conserving open lands, forests, farmland, streams and significant natural resources. Because of the public benefit, there are federal, state, and local tax incentives for the landowner who donates a conservation agreement.
On August 17th, 2006, President Bush signed into law significant new tax incentives for conservation agreement donations that increase these incentives. The new law raises the deduction a landowner can take for donating a conservation agreement from 30 percent of their adjusted gross income in any year to 50 percent and up to a 100 percent for farmers and ranchers; increases the number of years over which a conservation easement donor can take those deductions from 6 to 16 years, and these incentives are in effect for only 2006 and 2007.

For additional information on the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust you can contact them directly or contact The Blue Ridge Summit Group at 828-743-7077 or 404-394-7144