Write-off on the Range He also points out three substantial, earth-tone, wooden houses, built in the folds of the land. These houses are not "skylined" on ridgetops, the way trophy homes are in less sensitive developments, he says. Instead, the view is mostly preserved. The conservation easements, he explains, have been an essential component in the investors’ "business plans." By donating the easements to the land trust, the investors have likely reaped millions of dollars in tax breaks, along with profits from selling high-priced lots. Similar weddings of conservation and business plans can be found throughout Madison County. One-fifth of the private land here is protected by conservation easements, a total of about 200,000 acres; the county may lead the West in that regard. Madison County remains rural, with only about 7,000 residents. But the landowners doing easement deals here include Atlanta-based billionaire Ted Turner; a billionaire Wal-Mart heiress and her husband, the owner of the Denver Nuggets; the CEO of the $100 billion AIM mutual funds; the founder of the $150 billion Oppenheimer mutual funds; the CEO of the Cox Enterprises multinational media empire; the family that built the Arm & Hammer Baking Soda conglomerate; a multimillionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur; and the owners of several exclusive ski-resort developments. As in much of the scenic West, land conservation here has become largely a rich man’s game. And the conservation easement system serves upscale landowners to such a degree that a growing number of people think it’s unfair....
Colorado tax credits make easements work for working people Colorado farmers Dorothy and Norman Kehmeier have raised more than $500,000 in cash, simply by donating conservation easements on about 200 acres of their land. And they’d like other landowners to hear about it. "It’s wonderful," Dorothy Kehmeier says. She’s referring to an innovative Colorado program that enables struggling ranchers and farmers to cash in on easements. The Colorado Legislature approved the program in 1999, and it’s been running since 2000. It gives state income tax credits to landowners who donate easements to land trusts. The credits are equal to the value of the easements, and landowners can sell their credits to wealthy people who can apply the credits to their own hefty tax bills. The tax credits are better than tax deductions because they reduce the buyer’s tax bills dollar for dollar....
Conservation Easement Statistics 1.1 billion Total private acres in United States/ 2 million Number of acres of "development sprawl" consuming landscapes per year/ 800,000 Number of acres of land protected by local and regional land trusts per year, either in new conservation easements or purchases/ 7 million Total acres covered by conservation easements held by local, regional and national land trusts/ 17,847 Numbers of easements held by local and regional trusts in 2003/ 2,500 Number of new easement deals made per year....
Desperation leads to preservation Given his druthers, Randy Rusk would rather raise cattle, bale hay and drink in the views from his Wet Mountain Valley ranch. But the potential breakup of his parent's 1,800-acre operation pushed a reluctant Rusk to the head of a campaign to preserve Colorado's vanishing rural landscapes. "It sure wasn't the intent at the start," said Rusk, 55. "I'd be content to stay here and be a cowpuncher - there's no doubt." But instead of losing the Rusk Hereford Ranch to the pincers of development and unfavorable economics, Rusk and several conservation partners have stitched together agreements with owners of 11,000 acres to bar development from much of the valley floor forever. About 4,000 acres are already under conservation easements; the rest of the deals are expected to be completed this year....

a tip of the hat to Headwaters News for the links

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