Archive for September, 2008

It seems we’ve just gotten into the swing of summer and have roughly half the things done that we wanted to have done, and folks start celebrating the Autumnal Equinox. Better well known as the first day of Fall. Now I generally lump spring, summer and fall into the broad category of non winter and it is all good. But somehow, the closing of one season and the start of another can take us by surprise. Just two weeks ago I recalled that I had better check on the dates for The British Invasion in Stowe. An annual trek that I always make. In my mind it was to be sometime next month or even the month after. Imagine my shock that it was in ten days. The reality of the rapid passing of the seasons was all too apparent.

I thought a lot about this as I drove up Interstate 89 on my way to Stowe. How summer seems to have passed so quickly. But has it really, we are still eating fresh corn out of the garden, a few succulent blueberries are still on the bush and this years abundance of wild blackberries seems to never end. So I can relax a bit in my thinking, but must not relax on the firewood issue. I was so pleased that the British Invasion would be blessed with cool temperatures and clear blue skies. ( It generally seems that if you get too many British enthusiasts in one place it will inevitably rain and be dark and miserable. ) The foliage on the mountainsides has started its yearly change from varying shades of green to a rich mosaic of reds, yellows, browns and orange. There is a faint smell of woodsmoke in the air. A reminder of the warmth of the fireplace hearth. So why would I miss summer with its heat. humidity, and flying insects. Fall is reason enough to celebrate the passage of time.

To further heighten my day before the Autumnal Equinox, I stopped along the White River in Bethel, Vermont and spent an hour trying to lure a brown or rainbow trout to my fly. No luck there but a sensational day to be in a river. So yes, I relish the changes of the season even if it takes me totally by surprise.

The British Invasion? Absolutely fantastic, a great collection of British automobiles, British music and plenty of food and drink in the tradition of Great Britain . Be sure to check out the website and make plans for next years celebration. As for this year, Happy First Day of Fall. Plan some time in Vermont to enjoy this wondrous time of year. Theres still plenty of time.

Posted by Wade I. Treadway

Conservation easements are often quite misunderstood. They are simply an instrument by which a landowner can protect their land from future development into perpetuity. Conservation easements are unique to each and every land parcel that gets conserved. They can contol not only future development but limit and control the uses of the land as well. First and foremost, their major benefit is to protect and continue proper stewardship of the land. However, there are distinct advantages from a tax standpoint to conserving land. To better understand the basics, I would recommend visiting The Nature Conservancy website. As a national organization. The Nature Conservancy is perhaps the most widely recognized and known advocate of conservation easements. However, as an individual becomes more educated into the specifics of conservation easements, they will most likely find many local organizations as well. Here in Vermont one of the oldest and largest overseer of conservation easements is the Vermont Land Trust. They not only oversee and enforcement the easements, they are instrumental in educating and guiding landowners through the legalities and benefits, and the writing of the binding agreement. Many regions and communities also have their own more localized land trusts. The Upper Valley Land Trust and Richmond Land Trust are just a couple of examples.

In the simplest form, a conservation easement strips away the ability to develop the land parcel. This in theory, drops the value of a property. By having two appraisals done, one with no restrictions and one with the development rights removed gives the differential by which an individual can gain tax credits. This is dictated by Federal Tax guidelines. Now I said in theory, it drops the price. In most cases and certainly in most areas of the country, this holds true. However, practice has demonstrated here in Vermont that a property that has a conservation easement on it, hence no ability to develop it beyond its current use, does not necessarily mean that the market price of the parcel is lowered. Indeed several of the record sales of the last decade in Vermont for private residences have been properties with conservation easements on them. The reason is that typically buyers of Vermont property are more concerned with the preservation of the land than selling off parcels for development. Of course each property is unique to itself and every conservation easement is equally unique, but in general, having a conservation easement on a property in Vermont does not necessarily mean that it’s fair market value is less or that it will be detrimental to the marketing of the property.

Conservation easements have protected millions of acres of private land throughout the country, and are one of the more successful means of preserving open space and wildlife habitat. I strongly recommend visiting the above referenced sites to better understand this important component of stewardship of our lands.

Posted by Wade I. Treadway