Issue 246
Ocmulgee Initiative : The Georgia Land Conservation Center has launched an initiative to bring together the more than five land trusts that are actively working in the Ocmulgee River basin – specifically the
Macon to Hawkinsville area - to share information about each organization’s work in the Ocmulgee and to explore opportunities for cooperation and collaboration. The Center’s goal is to enhance land conservation in the basin in support of and complementary to the proposed Ocmulgee Mounds National
Historic Park and Preserve. If your land trust is – or wants to be – active in conserving Ocmulgee River basin lands, please contact Hans Neuhauser at 706-546-7507 or hans@galandcc.com
Land trust representatives’ discussion session to be held November 21 at Serenby
: The Southern
Conservation Trust and the Chattahoochee Hill Country Conservancy will host a meeting of land trust representatives to discuss issues of shared interest. The meeting will be held from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm on
Friday, November 21 at the Serenby Institute Community Center in Chattahoochee Hills, GA. An agenda and details are being developed by the SE Regional Office of the Land Trust Alliance. To RSVP, please go to: southeast@lta.org
Re-accreditation reforms : The Land Trust Accreditation Commission recently released a report on its findings from the first rounds of renewal applications, a program assessment and program improvement plans (available from the Commission’s web site, www.landtrustaccreditation.org
). The report includes a lot of interesting information (e.g., it takes an average of 339 hours to complete the renewal application process compared to an average of 567 hours for first-time applicants; 4 organizations have chosen not to renew their accreditation status). It also includes some findings that the Commission is having difficulty dealing with (e.g., the “trust but verify” approach is not working) or doesn’t seem to comprehend (e.g., the required documentation is onerous, the instructional information is overwhelming and the frequent changes to the requirements confusing.)
The Commission plans to improve the program in two phases. The first, to take place between now and the end of next year, will involve changes to materials and processes. The second phase will take place as
Land Trust Standards and Practices are revised. Meanwhile, the five-year reaccreditation cycle stands, at least for now.
Georgia Conservation Tax Credit Program – reaffirmation of program: Frank Smith, Deputy
Director of the State Properties Commission (SPC), gave a presentation on the tax credit program at the
August 28 training program in Mansfield sponsored by the Madison-Morgan Conservancy and the
Georgia Land Trust. He reiterated several important points. First, neither the Governor nor the SPC are trying to close down the program. Governor Deal does support “the preservation and conservation of
Georgia’s critical land.” Unfortunately, the program was “open to abuse” so an Advisory Team led by
SPC developed recommendations to:

Ensure the State gets full and accurate value for its tax credit;

Have qualified conservation partners with clear conservation goals hold conservation easements;

Ensure the continued protection and conservation of critical lands; and

Manage the transferability of the tax credit.
Most of these recommendations were incorporated in the Tax Reform Act of 2012 (OCGA §48-7-29.12).
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One of the changes required appraisals to go through a review process managed by SPC. At first, most appraisers didn’t follow the new requirements and few applications for tax credits were approved. Now, with additional clarifying guidance from SPC and an opening of communications between the landowner’s appraiser and the SPC’s review appraiser, more applications (four to date) are being approved. (additional information including the SPC reviewer checklist and appraisal requirements is available on SPC’s web site, www.gspc.georgia.gov
).
Dates
October 7: Deadline for applying for a Southeast Resilient Landscapes Fund grant from the Open
Space Institute. For details, see Land Conservation News 9/5/14 .
October 16: Webinar on Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas (PARCAS) sponsored by the Southeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. The presenters, Dr.
Joseph Apodaca of Warren Wilson College and Dr. Stephen Spear of The Orianne Society, will discuss the development of PARCAS, areas of the southeastern US likely to be designated as
PARCAS and how government agencies and land conservation organizations can use PARCAS to conserve amphibians, reptiles and their habitats. The session will start at 10:30 am. No registration is required. To participate, go to: http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/priority-amphibian-and-reptile-conservationareas-parcas-creative-uses-for-conservation
October 30: The Georgia Land Conservation Council quarterly meeting has been postponed until
December (tentative date: Dec. 11). To confirm the new date, time and location, contact Kim at the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority: 404-584-1009.
October 30: Strategic communications for land trusts. A conversation with conservation leaders sponsored by the Southeast Regional Office of the Land Trust Alliance. For details and to register, contact Heidi Hannapel at hhannapel@lta.org
November 21: Land trust representatives meeting at Serenby in Chattahoochee Hills. See article on page 1.
Dates for your calendar: next year and beyond
May 13-15: 2015: Southeast Regional Land and Community Conservation Conference,
Hendersonville, NC. Sponsored by the Land Trust Alliance.
June 11-12, 2015: Fifth Symposium on Advanced Legal Topics in Land Conservation.
Indianapolis.
October 8-10, 2015: Rally 2015, Sacramento, CA
October 28-30, 2016: Rally 2016, Minneapolis, MN
October 26-28, 2017: Rally 2017, Denver, CO
Land Conservation News is a periodic communication produced by the Georgia Land Conservation Center for land trust leaders and others who care about the future of open space in Georgia. To subscribe or to contribute news
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items, please contact Hans Neuhauser at the Georgia Land Conservation Center: 706-546-7507 or hans@galandcc.com
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