Conservation gets a new tool

Jamison Watts has gone to the other side.

For the past three months, he has been the executive director of Northern California Regional Land Trust, a nonprofit organization promoting voluntary land conservation. Before that, though, he spent five years working as a senior biologist for an environmental-consulting company in Chico, which meant that the end result of his work was land development.

Watts, a 36-year-old Bay Area native, said he made the switch because he’s a conservationist at heart and believes most local residents are, too.

The land trust’s most notable recent accomplishment occurred over the summer, when it finalized an agreement with the owners of the 18,000-acre Llano Seco Ranch—on the east side of the Sacramento River south of Ord Bend—to put some 4,235 acres in a conservation easement guaranteeing it will never be developed. It was the last piece of the ranch not already protected.

Right now, Watt is especially excited about his new job because Congress recently passed legislation offering new land conservation tax benefits. “Sometimes folks need a little incentive,” he said.

But Watts advises anyone considering donating a conservation easement to consult with his or her tax adviser to determine whether the benefits will be worth it.

“In today’s world you have to make decisions based not only on what you think is right, but also on what’s best for the family and what’s best for the business,” Watts said during an interview in the organization’s small, cozy office on Third Avenue in Chico. “It’s all interconnected.”

The tax incentive applies not only to farmers and ranchers, but also to moderate-income landowners as well. The tax benefits are now greater than they have been in 20 years.

According to the Land Trust Alliance, the new law raises a donor’s tax deduction from 30 percent of adjusted gross income in any year to 50 percent. Qualifying farmers and ranchers will see an even bigger increase with the deduction of 100 percent of their income if the land remains available for agriculture production.

The Land Trust Alliance worked with Congress to get President Bush to sign the bill into law in August. Previously, landowners could take deductions for only five years; the period for benefiting from donating land is now 15 years. However, in order to benefit from the tax incentive, the conservation easement must be recorded by Dec. 31, 2007.

From the appraisal to recording the land, Watts said, the process takes about six months if the landowner is “on the ball.” He said there are now six “land projects” in the area interested in long-term conservation.

“One of the challenges Northern California Regional Land Trust faces is that people are wary about land trusts and conservation easements and how it all works,” explained Watts. “Right now, there is a void that I see as a great opportunity.”

Organizations like the NCRLT serve as intermediaries between landowners and the federal government, in this case the IRS. Working for one of them is “a lot different than the private sector,” Watts said. “There is less money coming in from fee services and more coming in from grants, membership and fundraising.”

Watts sees this as a challenge but likes that it has helped him grow as a professional. “I really believe in what this land trust is doing, and I know this land trust has a great opportunity to grow and facilitate conservation in our region,” he said.

Watts hopes that Northern California Regional Land Trust will become more of a household name for a larger percentage of residents in the Butte, Glenn and Tehama counties area, especially in farming communities.

“There are a lot of folks who are conservation oriented in this community, and I see our membership growing because of this,” Watts said. If Northern California Regional Land Trust can become the go-to resource for private landowners, as well as a bigger player in mitigation projects with city and county governments, Watts is confident the void he mentioned will be filled.