• American Friends Hires Executive Director

    The American Friends of Canadian Conservation (AF) is pleased to announce that David Hillary has accepted the position of Executive Director for the organization. After an extensive search that attracted more than 160 applicants from both sides of the border, AF’s Board unanimously agreed that Hillary brings to American Friends the ideal combination of relevant conservation experience in a leadership role paired with deep and wide-ranging connections in the US and Canadian conservation communities.

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  • American Friends of Canadian Conservation’s name describes the organization’s mission.

    We exist to help our conservation colleagues achieve their objectives by increasing the level of funding available for land conservation and by partnering to complete donations of ecologically significant land and easements from US-based landowners who wish to avail themselves of US tax benefits while ensuring that their contribution of appreciated property is not subject to Canadian capital gains tax.

    Become A Grantee

  • Do you own property in Canada? If so, you may be able to save money.

    By offering US donors who support Canadian conservation the opportunity to make their gifts of land or interests in land, cash and securities tax deductible, American Friends of Canadian Conservation is helping Canadian conservation organizations increase the pace and sustainability of land protection north of the border.

    Conservation Lands Program

  • Did you know that Americans own approximately 50% of the land in prime Canadian vacation areas?

    Americans own cottages, fishing camps, hunting lodges, island retreats, working forests and mountain hideaways in some of Canada’s most scenic areas. Many of these properties are part of multi-generational family traditions that link the two countries.

    Our History

  • Save Some Green

    U.S. taxpayers who own natural lands in Canada are often interested in transferring their property to the next generation of family members and/or permanently protecting their lands in Canada. In both cases, conservation can be a valuable legal and financial strategy. There are tax incentives in both the U.S. and Canada to encourage conservation of priority natural lands in Canada.

    Download Save Some Green; A handbook for U.S. taxpayers

  • Every $1 donated to American Friends produces more than $80 in conserved land.

    In the short time since completing its first transaction in October 2011, American Friends of Canadian Conservation and its Canadian partners have protected 26 remarkable properties in 5 provinces through gifts of land and easements to American Friends, with an appraised value of nearly $17 million USD.

    Make A DonationLearn More About the Conservation Lands Program
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American Friends of Canadian Conservation protects Canada’s magnificent natural legacy through its innovative and effective partnerships.

Link to: News

Featured News

Music for Birds and Bears

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Celebrating a Vision Realized on Prince Edward Island

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Joel and Ada Farber

Tax Savvy Produces Conservation and a Family Legacy

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Message from the Executive Director

It has been an amazing few months working as the first Executive…
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Half-Day Cross Border Conservation Workshop – October 24, 2022

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American Friends Hires Executive Director

The American Friends of Canadian Conservation (AF) is pleased…
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Promoting Awareness and Best Practices for Clean Water

Blue Massawippi focuses on the preservation of Lake Massawippi…
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Americans interested in donating their Canadian land or a partial interest can accomplish both their conservation and estate planning objectives through a gift to American Friends of Canadian Conservation.

Canadian conservation leaders report that in prime vacation areas such as the Maritimes, Great Lakes’ island country and British Columbia’s Gulf Islands some of the most ecologically significant land is owned by US citizens. Many of these properties are part of multi-generational family traditions that link our two countries.

Conservation-oriented Americans are often familiar with land trusts that operate in the US and therefore recognize that donating land or a conservation easement can provide both personal satisfaction and positive financial results. The aging of the baby-boom generation means that many families are engaged in estate planning. According to a 2002 Wall Street Journal article by Jeffrey Zaslow, “Vacation home ownership rose 13% in the 1990s, to 3.5 million homes. Today, one out of every seven homeowners over age 65 also owns a second home that must be factored into their estates.”

Learn More About Cross Border Conservation

Canadian Partners

American Friends of Canadian Conservation exists to help our conservation colleagues achieve their objectives by increasing the level of funding available for land conservation and by partnering to complete donations of ecologically significant land and easements from US-based landowners who wish to avail themselves of US tax benefits while ensuring that their contribution of appreciated property is not subject to Canadian capital gains tax.

Accomplishing our mission through these activities requires American Friends to comply with laws, statutes and tax regulations in both countries. Some of the best legal minds and most experienced conservation professionals worked for more than a decade to establish the system, policies and procedures that make American Friends’ partnerships and successes possible, now and in the future.

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