Entries by admin

US Enhanced Conservation Easement Tax Incentive

Last week the US Congress gave a wonderful year end gift to preservation advocates, protection-oriented landowners and anyone who values natural, wild places. In a bi-partisan vote that reflects Americans’ interest in conservation, irrespective of their other political leanings, both the House and Senate voted to make the “Enhanced Conservation Easement Tax Incentive” permanent and retroactive to the beginning of 2015. Here’s what that means to American Friends, its partners and US taxpayers who own ecologically-sensitive land, including in Canada.

American Friends of Canadian Conservation and Partners Create New Park in British Columbia at St. John Point

St. John Point, a 64-acre waterfront property on Mayne Island, is going to be a new regional park in the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia, thanks to a unique collaboration.

At the southwest tip of Mayne Island, St. John Point features 1.3 miles of pristine shoreline complete with beaches, a series of dramatic coastal bluffs connected by meandering trails through mature Douglas Fir forest, a prime remnant of a rare Salish Sea ecological zone, and extensive eelgrass beds. Located near the international border, Mayne Island is served by the BC Ferries system, making it accessible for low-impact, oceanfront recreation.

Knowledge is the Power Behind Protection

Conservation is all about people. Our activities threaten habitat for all species. On the other hand, our passion for nature provides the inspiration for preservation. We are cause and cure. Land trusts provide knowledge and support to people who are inspired to act on behalf of nature, and future generations.

,

Grand Manan, Bay of Fundy – Partnership with The Nature Trust of New Brunswick

n the days before Christmas a landmark conservation gift permanently protected a significant coastal property known as Seven Days Work Cliff on the beautiful island of Grand Manan in the Bay of Fundy. The Nature Trust of New Brunswick (NTNB) and a US charity called American Friends of Canadian Land Trusts (American Friends) formed a unique partnership that made this “cross-border” donation of land in the province possible.