The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

The care of 50% of American land is in the hands of less than 2% of its people: the private landowner. Over the next two decades, the United States faces the greatest turnover of land in its history. The average age of farmers in the United States is 60, and the average age of forest landowners is pushing 70. Over the next 20 years, millions and millions of acres of land are going to change hands, potentially exposing large sections of currently protected landholdings to urban development or non-sustainable agriculture practices. The decision to include The Nature Conservancy of Kentucky in your estate plans is more imperative than it has ever been before.

Better Return on Conservation Investment

Acre for acre, private lands generate a better return for conservation investment than most public lands. According to Dr. Michael Scott, who pioneered GIS-based Gap analysis which correlates the geographic extent of protected areas and hotspots of wildlife diversity, “Most federal land is over 3000 feet. We are protecting rocks, ice, alpine trees, high altitude deserts in abundance. Meanwhile, the biodiversity is concentrated in our creeks and drainages and river bottoms, which are predominantly in private land ownership.”
The Nature Conservancy currently offers a complete tool-kit for landowners interested in protecting their holdings for future generations of nature lovers. The great news is that while protecting nature is the primary goal, there are other advantages to including The Nature Conservancy of Kentucky in your estate plans. For example, a conservation easement donor may reduce the value of the property included in his or her estate and thereby reduce the amount of estate taxes due on the property upon their death.
For details on how you can take advantage of these unprecedented benefits, contact our estate planning professionals today!
For more information about estate planning, contact Cadell Walker at 859-259-9655 ext. 22 or cadell_walker@tnc.org.