Landowners with land conservation information are key to preservation

When it comes to hunting, fishing or any outdoor activity; you need land. Fortunately, in Maine we are blessed with millions of acres of near-wilderness. But problems lie ahead. Much of the land in Maine and elsewhere in the nation used for recreational hunting and fishing is privately held by forest, farm and other small woodlot owners. In Maine, these landowners have recognized the tradition of generally open and available private land. But there are trends that threaten to break this tradition.

Two dynamic factors are propelling the market for land. Unplanned growth – sometimes called sprawl – now consumes land at a rate three times greater than population growth, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Even more of a concern is people who own the land are getting older; most are at least 60 years.

The Pinchot Institute, a noted conservation nonprofit, reports during the next 10 to 20 years, we will witness the largest transference of land ownership in U.S. history, as tens of millions of acres around the country change hands and, potentially, change use. This is how traditions die.

Maine is not immune from this problem, and because our population is a bit older than the national average, we will likely start seeing the effects sooner.

It is clear many farms, forests, and other privately held swaths of land will soon move into new ownership as the next generation declines to take over stewardship. To make matters worse, many landowning families simply have not plannned for an orderly transition of holdings to the next generation. This lack of planning for issues such as estate taxes places great stress on the succeeding generation. Much of this land may well eventually wind up in the hands of developers, and out of reach for recreational users, if families do not plan accordingly.

There are alternatives.

Traditionally, Maine people have enjoyed relatively open use of dramatically large areas of the state. The often repeated statistic that Maine is one of the most heavily forested states in the nation, with the highest percentage of private land ownership, is a source of pride for many people here. Unfortunately, there has been a sense of complacency that things will forever remain in the status quo. Clearly, this will not be the case.

What we need is a creative solution to the looming problem of land ownership changes. The Resources First Foundation, based in Maine, was created in 2000 to provide conservation education tools and solutions to promote conservation and restoration activities for fish, wildlife and other natural resources primarily on privately owned lands across the United States.

RFF has been guided by the principle that any comprehensive conservation strategy must address the human component for widespread adoption of conservation values. As such, RFF recognizes private landowners as stewards of the land, and caretakers of our future natural resources, not as enemies or roadblocks to sustainability.

RFF recently launched a new Web site to promote conservation here in our home state of Maine: the Maine State Conservation Center, which provides a comprehensive menu of conservation services for private landowners, and supports landowners sustainably managing Maine’s natural resources and open spaces, such as local farmers and alternative energy retailers.

The site includes a statewide conservation mapping program, with parcel mapping for the 33 towns in Maine with digitized tax maps. The program also includes thematic layers for species habitat, wetlands, watersheds, and conservation lands. This vast array of information in a central location can help landowners maximize the conservation potential for their own land.

The site is: stateconservation.org/Maine.

Previously, in 2001, RFF created the Private Landowner Network, a bottom-up conservation empowerment tool for individual and family landowners. It is available at: privatelandownernetwork.org. And for many landowners, taxes play a critical role in planning. With the most dramatic intergenerational shift of land ownership looming, tax planning may well become the deciding factor regarding what happens to the family farm or forest.

Landowners and their heirs need solid, unbiased fact-based and up-to-date advice on tax options. RFF also hosts the Conservation Tax Center, at: conservationtaxcenter.org.

By ensuring as many landowners as possible can plug into these resources, there is greater chance for the negative effects of the remarkable changes on the horizon to be minimized. If information is power, then the most powerful landowners will have access to the most comprehensive and accurate information.

Amos Eno is president of the Resources First Foundation, based in Yarmouth. He lives in South Freeport.