By DAN DURBIN - Special to GM Today

March 20, 2008

But in reality, that just isn't the case.

In fact, the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust Inc. and Waukesha County Land Trust not only realize the importance of hunting, but also allow hunting on a lottery basis on most of their land.

Angela Curtes, the assistant director/land protection specialist of OWLT, said her group's mission is to preserve the rural character and natural areas of both Ozaukee and Washington counties for future generations, and hunting is part of it.

"Hunting is an affective land management tool," she said. "So we allow it on anything that we purchase as long as it is safe. Right now, we allow hunting on most of our properties for deer."

Land trusts acquire land primarily in two ways: through purchase of land or conservation easements, or through donation of land or conservation easements.

Land that is highly desirable for protection and is in a targeted area might be purchased by the trust. Other times, a land trust holds a conservation easement, which is a viable option for many people because the land stays in private ownership.

"A conservation easement basically protects the land from being developed or parceled," she said. "The land trust does not own the land or does the public get access to it. Easements can be bought or donated, but more commonly they are donated. Hunting is typically never restricted in easements. Hunters can donate an easement and still hunt the land."

One reason for donating the land is for the sole purpose of protecting the land forever. Even if a person sells the land, the new owner cannot develop it. On buildable land, this would commonly lower the fair market value. Land that can't be developed can qualify for a conservation easement, in which case the loss in value would be far less.

In either case, a landowner can deduct the value of the conservation easement donation as a charitable gift and receive tax benefits.

Currently, people can donate their hunting land to a land trust through a conservation easement, still retain hunting rights and ownership, and get a tax break of 30 percent of their federal income for five years.

Say a person has a property valued at $150,000, and they bring home $100,000 a year in income. They could write off $30,000 a year for up to five years, thereby having a writeoff of $150,000 - equaling the price of the land.

"The only people that really don't benefit from the tax break are those who don't make enough to take advantage of the benefit," Curtes said.

The reason for a conservation easement is not meant to be just tax savings.

"Preserving these lands helps everyone," Curtes said. "Even if a person doesn't have access to the land, they benefit. Access is important, but clean water from a wetlands easement will benefit people with better water and a better environment, even if they can't walk on the land. Our aim is to restore lands to their natural state, which helps wildlife and people."

The OWLT has protected 3,553 acres, with about two-thirds of it being conservation easement donations. When a landowner donates a conservation easement, there are negotiations between the landowner and the land trust. For instance, if a person has a 40-acre parcel and wants a few acres set aside for buildable land, and the other 38 acres to be set aside as undevelopable, that is fine. Each deal can be catered to the landowner.

"Land purchased using state stewardship funds is typically open to hunting except if safety is compromised," she said. "Then access is more of an issue. We strive to allow hunting if it is safe when using these funds."

WCLT has about 2,000 acres in its program. Unlike Waukesha County, which automatically denies hunting when they purchase land, the WCLT allows deer hunting by a lottery.

Ellen Gennrich, president of the WCLT, said her group's land is mostly purchased, not enrolled as a conservation easement.

"Our biologist works with the Department of Natural Resources on deer populations on our properties and we use hunting as a management tool," she said. "Over half of our land is huntable based on what the owner of the land decides."

In any case, land trusts are good not just for humanity, but also as an aid to possibly get people some valuable tax breaks. You can bet that when this writer makes a purchase of hunting land in the future, a conservation easement is going to be high on the list.

There are more than 50 land trusts in the state.

(Dan Durbin writes a weekly outdoors column for The Freeman. Call Durbin at 644-7940, or e-mail him at ddurbin@bastdurbin.com if you have a story idea.)