Knowledge is the Power Behind Protection

By Alison Howson, Executive Director of the Ontario Land Trust Alliance

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.

The Ontario Land Trust Alliance (OLTA) strengthens land conservation in Ontario by building and supporting a strong land trust community. We ensure that conservation organizations have the knowledge and tools to be effective.

Three years ago, OLTA and American Friends launched the Cross-border Conservation Training Program (CCTP) to increase land trusts’ capacity to protect ecologically significant, and potentially threatened, properties owned by US taxpayers. In recognition of the potential land protection outcomes, the Ontario Trillium Foundation provided the key funding. The McLean Foundation also invested in the CCTP. We are extremely grateful for this support which brought our project to life.

Educating landowners  from the US about differences between our two countries’ capital gains tax regimes is a critical conservation strategy. In Canada, capital gains results from almost all transfers of appreciated real estate; including bequests. Under the US system which uses an estate tax instead, only the very wealthiest Americans have to worry. As a consequence, Americans often don’t make any special estate arrangements for their Canadian property; opting to “…just give it to the kids.”

The Canadian tax on such a gift can be as much as 25% of the property’s appreciation. Where property values have escalated sharply, the tax quickly adds up to six figures. Unless the current owners set aside funds, their heirs may have to sell some or all of the property for development in order to pay the tax.

This is why OLTA and American Friends are helping Canadian land trusts provide guidance and support to US landowners and their professional advisors.

Happily there are tax incentives in both the US and Canada to promote permanent protection of Canada’s natural heritage. Unfortunately, this fact is not widely known. Through the CCTP, OLTA and American Friends are providing materials to share this information with US owners of priority parcels in Ontario. Tax benefits can make it financially feasible for US owners to act on their passion to protect their favorite places. We are proud to report that CCTP has created innovative new tools, built land trust capacity and helped advance the protection of thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive lands owned by US taxpayers.

Beauvais Point, on Wolfe Island, is a perfect example. Located in the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River, very close to where it originates in Lake Ontario, Wolfe Island’s forests have almost all been cut to create farmland. The majority of the shore is divided into second home lots for vacationers who can swiftly reach Wolfe Island via a short ferry trip.

Thanks to the multi-generational stewardship of the MacLean family, Beauvais Point is the exception, with an impressive forest, on rich, dark soil. Visitors are struck by the unusually lofty canopy height of the straight, tall shagbark hickories and maples. The extensive waterfront is mostly natural. These features protect habitat for migratory birds and rare plants, and maintain the clear water and clean river bottom that species like small and largemouth bass and muskellunge require for reproduction.

Burton (Mackie) MacLean and his wife Charlotte, who live in Pennsylvania, were searching for a realistic way to pass Beauvais Point to their adult children and ensure that their large crew of grandchildren would be able to experience the river, the woods, and the company of their extended family. To achieve that vision, they needed a conservation approach to reduce Canadian taxes and produce a US income deduction. The CCTP helped make that possible.

Last year, Mackie and Charlotte donated perpetual conservation easement to American Friends in a transaction facilitated by Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust (TIWLT). Beauvais Point cannot be subdivided and new structures are allowed only in the areas around existing buildings. A CCTP workshop for landowners, hosted by TIWLT, helped inform the MacLeans of their options. The CCTP also provided essential funds for transaction costs associated with the easement gift.

This year, as part of the CCTP program, the MacLeans welcomed dozens of other American landowners to Beauvais Point to share their story, and showed off the natural features of the property to inspire other families to follow their lead.

Together, OLTA and American Friends look forward to all the important future land conservation in Ontario that is resulting from our program and partnerships.

 

 

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The Journey to Ontario’s First Cross-border Conservation Easement – Echo Island

When Sam White’s heirs donated a conservation easement over Echo Island to American Friends of Canadian Conservation, they and the Rainy Lake Conservancy (RLC) completed a multi-year journey and reached a preservation milestone. Because this gift was the first of its kind in Ontario, the journey turned out to be a slow paddle rather than a fast ride in a speed boat! This is the story of how RLC, the donors and American Friends got there.

Everyone involved knew from the start there would be the legal equivalent of stormy waters as we developed an easement document acceptable to the Canadian Revenue Agency, the US Internal Revenue Service, and the Province. Fortunately we were a good paddling team and we arrived at our destination none the worse for wear. We, at RLC, are proud that we protected a rare piece of Ontario’s endangered White Pine habitat and charted a course for others who will embark on similar journeys to preserve special places in Ontario.

RLC works to conserve lands and waters treasured by Canadians and Americans. Our area includes the famous Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Area, Quetico Provincial Park, the Rainy Lake Islands Conservation Reserve and many other protected places.

A number of metaphorical shoals created by title issues, appraisal questions and government procedures slowed us down at times. Passion, patience and good humor kept us all going to the end.

Having survived our maiden voyage, we are now in the process of protecting 3 more properties on Rainy Lake with American Friends. It has been rewarding to work with such professionals. They are first and foremost individuals committed to conservation, a shared goal that drives land trusts to venture into uncharted waters!

Dale and Phyllis Callaghan, Rainy Lake Conservancy

Dale and Phyllis Callaghan, Rainy Lake Conservancy

For more information, contact Dale and Phyllis Callaghan, Rainy Lake Conservancy, info@rainlakeconservancy.org.

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

In 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.  Cross-border conservation conserves ecologically important Canadian land that is owned by preservation-minded Americans. At 23.8 hectares, Seven Days Work Cliff is best known for its spectacular sea cliffs that are home to birds of prey and a popular trail that overlooks the Bay.

“Much of the island’s coastline is privately owned and is being rapidly developed,” says Renata Woodward, Executive Director of NTNB. “The conservation of Seven Days Work Cliff means another natural area has been put aside for nature, as well as for residents of Grand Manan and visitors to enjoy for years to come.”

Located on the northeastern section of the island between Whale Cove and Ashburton Head, Seven Days Work Cliff consists of a highly visible and spectacular 80 metre sea cliff, as well as wetland and other natural vegetation. It is also an ideal place to see the birds of prey that nest and hunt along the cliff. The beloved cliff-top “Red Trail”, managed by the Grand Manan Trails Association and used by residents and visitors, also traverses the land.

“Grand Manan is a beautiful and environmentally fragile New Brunswick gem. Protecting its special landscapes is a high priority for NTNB, but land there is very expensive, especially if it has an ocean view,” says Woodward. “We are thrilled that the Americans who owned Seven Days Work Cliff wanted to conserve their property and were willing to donate it.”

NTNB formed the innovative partnership with American Friends to make this generous gift legally and financially feasible.  American Friends now owns the donated property and NTNB will manage it as part of their network of nature preserves.

 “Seven Days Work Cliff is a perfect demonstration of why Canadian land trusts created American Friends,” says Sandra Tassel, Program Coordinator for the Seattle-based organization. “Americans own priority conservation lands in many of Canada’s most scenic and ecologically sensitive places. We find that these landowners truly cherish their properties and are willing to give the land for preservation purposes if tax and legal obstacles can be overcome. The partnership between the Nature Trust and American Friends to protect Seven Days Work Cliff is a great example of what can be achieved through cross-border donations. We hope this will be the first of many New Brunswick projects.”

The features of the property inspired all of the parties involved in the pioneering project. The cliffs are a geological wonder, containing layers of rock formed during the enormous volcanic event that filled the Bay of Fundy with basaltic lava 201 million years ago. Today, the boulder-strewn beach below the cliffs attracts rock hounds who come to collect fine specimens of volcanic zeolites, quartz, jasper, agate and other minerals that fall from the cliff as it slowly erodes.

Seven Days Work Cliff is the 37th nature preserve managed by NTNB in the province and the third on Grand Manan.

Many generous contributions have been made to the project, including the land donors (who wish to remain anonymous), American Friends of Canadian Land Trusts, Davis Conservation Foundation, Grand Manan Trails Association, The William P Wharton Trust, EcoAction, and anonymous donors.

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Robinson Woods, British Columbia – (Gabriola Land and Trail Trust)

Robinson Woods

If you love the unique natural splendor of the Gulf Islands, you have something new to celebrate. After more than a decade of effort on the part of many people, the very first BC “cross-border” conservation covenant has been completed. The cross-border descriptor explains that a generous, conservation-minded American donated the covenant to permanently preserve her land in Canada.

The breakthrough was the result of a partnership composed of the Gabriola Land and Trails Trust (GaLTT), American Friends of Canadian Land Trusts (American Friends) and a retired anthropologist from Illinois who has a longstanding love of BC, and Gabriola Island in particular. The project is known as Robinson Woods to honor donor Sally Robinson and the forest protected by her gift. The covenant, which Robinson donated to American Friends, protects a representative example of the Coastal Douglas Fir Zone, recognized by conservation biologists as among the most biologically unique and rich areas in Western Canada but also among the most imperiled ecosystems due to development pressure in places such as the Gulf Islands, including on Gabriola Island where Sally’s property is located.

As a result of GaLTT’s leadership and Sally Robinson’s dedication to preservation, a very valuable and scenic coastal property in the Gulf Islands will retain its character, with small building footprints, low rooflines and protection for the ecosystem and views. Unlike most conservation covenants, the one Sally donated to American Friends protects a place where someone lives and the public is invited to visit. As she planned, Sally’s gift demonstrates of how fragile island landscapes can be carefully and sensitively developed, while offering value to the broader community.   John Peirce, President of the GaLTT board said, “The big advantage of our partnership with American Friends is that we had the freedom, within broad bounds, to customize the terms of the covenant to address most of Sally’s concerns. Having done this process once, we are hoping to inspire other American land owners in the Gulf Islands will see possibilities for protecting their properties in return for significant tax breaks on both sides of the border.”

GaLTT and Sally worked together to open trails across her land in order to expand the Island’s impressive trail network. Gabriola residents and visitors alike now enjoy the preserved forest and access the sunny south-facing beach. The trails created by GaLTT as part of the Robinson Woods project provide recreation and non-motorized transportation opportunities.

People who come to Gabriola by boat and traverse Gabriola Passage will always appreciate the views from the popular Pylades Channel because the covenant prohibits new construction that would be visible from the water. Furthermore, the restriction on additional development protects the water quality in this sensitive marine environment by limiting new septic installations.

Arguably the most important impact of the Robinson Woods project, both in the immediate and long-term, is its demonstration of cross border conservation in BC. As Paul McNair, Executive Director of the Land Trust Alliance of British Columbia wrote, “The project on Gabriola Island will be an innovative and important demonstration of how these cross border partnerships can work to achieve the conservation objectives of BC residents.”  One of Sally’s goals for her gift to American Friends was to create a replicable model for conservation advocates throughout the province. Sally also achieved her other goal of being able to pass her beloved farm to her son and grandchildren, knowing its future is protected.