Land Conservation Planning

November 5th, 2015

Overview

*Conservation & Trends

*Florida Strategies

*Land Conservation Tools

Land Conservation and Preservation

Permanent protection of land areas by withdrawing them from development.

Farmlands, fisheries, ecotourism, and working landscapes
Preserve open space and natural character
Outdoor recreation, trails, and hunting
Ecological functions and wildlife habitat
Mitigation of natural hazards and water quality protection

Source: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcseprd396218.pdf

37% of developed land developed in last 30 years

Federally Owned Land

Federal gov owns and manages roughly 340 million acres
Four agencies alone manage 610 million
- Under Department of Interior
  - National Park Service - 80 million
  - Bureau of Land Management - 248 million
  - Fish and Wildlife - 89 million
- Under Department of Agriculture
  - US Forest Service - 193 million
- Department of Defense - Approx 19 million

Federally Owned Land Cont.

28% of total US land base
Amount ranges from 0.3% of land in Connecticut to 81% of land in Nevada - And often cause of controversy
In Florida: 13.1%, or 4.5 million of 34.7 million total acres

Source: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf

Gaining ground in conservation has moved from federal to state government.

Source: http://flshorebirdalliance.org/media/2093/2060_Pop_Maps.jpg

Florida by 2060

~2x population growth, from 19.89 million to 35 million
7 million acres projected for conversion to urbanized use by 2060--land area the size of state of Vermont
Conversion of rural land to urban within 1 mile buffer of protected conservation land-- 2 million acres of that 7 million falls within buffer
Threat of fragmentation, loss of biodiversity, and significant water management issues

Source: http://www.1000friendsofflorida.org/wp-content/themes/1000freinds/formpop/form-pop.php?q=florida-2060-a-pop

1990-2000: Preservation 2000 protected 1.8 million acres
Substantially increased state's funding for land acquisition to mitigate priorities valued at ~$5 billion
$3 billion land fund bonded over 10 years, $300 million to spend per year
Funded via $.17 document stamp increase in compromise with real estate interests

Late 1990s, Preservation Florida allotment waning. Groups rally to create Amendment 5, constitutional amendment to authorize funding permanently
1988: Amendment 5 passes with 72% support. New Governor Bush and bipartisan legislature easily pass Florida Forever Act for another 10 years of funding
Funds largely for DEP and Water Management Districts

But then: Economic Crash

Document stamp tax revenues plummet
Legislature meets in 2009 to cut spending to meet nearly $2 billion statewide deficit. ZERO Florida Forever funding authorized
Recent years have seen modest gains, from $15 million to $50 million in funding, but partly from sale of state lands and still only 1/6 of previous years

Land Trusts: An Increasingly Popular Tool

Private, nonprofit organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation easement acquisition, or by its stewardship of such land or easements; or
an agreement whereby one party agrees to hold ownership of a piece of real property for the benefit of another party

Source: http://www.nationalcenter.org/NPA569.html

Private Land Trusts

The Nature Conservancy - 12.3 million acres
The Conservation Fund - 3 million acres
Trust for Public Land - 1.3 million acres

Tall Timber Land Conservacny

Since the inception of the TTLC in 1990, more than 127,000 acres have been conserved
Considered one of the premier land trusts in the nation, conserving working forests, farms, and recreational lands in southwest Georgia and north FL

Innovative Arguments for Conservation

http://talltimbers.org/red-hills-economic-impact-analysis/
http://talltimbers.org/red-hills-value-of-ecosystem-services-study/

Tools for Land Conservation

Acquisition of land and development rights - conservation easements + fee simple purchase
Open space and greenway planning, green infrastructure, and urban/regional parks
Agriculture and working landscapes protections
Education and private land stewardship

Acquiring Land and Development Rights

Fee Simple Purchase

All rights and title to the property purchased by agency
Occasionally done below market value via "bargain sale" where some portion of value is donated by seller
Usually facilitated by a non-profit organization, such as a land trust, because these organizations often have access to funding for land purchases.

Acquiring Land and Development Rights

Purchase with Leaseback, leasing, or undivided interest

Purchase of land but agency or trust agrees to lease land back to the seller for period of time
Can provide time for previous owner to transition or simply ensure property is maintained in a certain use

Acquiring Land and Development Rights

Donation or Bequest

Giving of property to agency or trust, bequest occurring upon death of landowner
Provides tax and estate planning relief to large landowners, ensures their vision is maintained

Acquiring Land and Development Rights

Conservation Easements

Purchase of development rights from owner (or donation), prevents specific development uses
Land ownership retained, but easement "runs with the land," meaning it is applicable even after future sale of property to new owners

Source: http://conservationeasement.us/reports/easements

Acquiring Land and Development Rights

Eminent Domain

Government takes private property for public use with just compensation
Allows for strategic planning and use, but highly controversial to invoke

Acquiring Land and Development Rights

Transfer of Development Rights

Release of rights from high-priority conservation area, called sending area, to high-priority development area, called receiving area. Often held in interim by land bank
Market realities must exist that drive real demand for TDR programs, otherwise they languish

Acquiring Land and Development Rights

Land Exchanges

Exchange of developable land for conservation land
Example: AeroJet Land Exchange, 1988. US Fish and Wildlife facilitated exchange of 28,000 acres of BLM land in Nevada for 4,650 acres Florida wetlands owned by the company AeroJet. Land then sold to the South Florida Water Management District

Acquiring Land and Development Rights

Working Landscapes: Exclusive Agricultural Zones

Must maintain use consistent with agricultural use
Rarely used, however. It is more vulnerable to legal challenge than non-exclusive agricultural zoning, and, when challenged, more likely to be struck down.

Acquiring Land and Development Rights

Working Landscapes: Non-exclusive Agricultural Zones

Allows non-farm (residential) dwellings, but strictly limits the number of such dwellings. In addition, non-exclusive zoning often allows the construction of conditional uses if these uses are located on land of low quality for farming.

Acquiring Land and Development Rights

Differential Taxation

Gives preferential property tax rates to lands held in desired use categories, such as conservation
Incentivizes conservation - Also available in form of income tax deductions to those that donate via systems like conservation easements

Those are some tools to make it happen.

But what about the planning process?

Source: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/programs/technical/cta/?cid=stelprdb1049425

An example in practice: Greenprinting

The best planning is participatory.

A Greenprint delivers both a long-term vision for conservation and a concrete plan to protect the places most important to a community.

Stakeholder Vision + Quantified Priorities + Implementation = Planning

http://video.esri.com/watch/51/geodesign-in-conservation-planning-stakeholder-driven-geoprocessing-through-greenprinting

Source: https://www.tpl.org/greenprinting