Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Tax credits possible for endangered species

Evelyn Cronce El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

The Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2007, currently before both Houses of Congress, would benefit both landowners and conservationists. The bills, HR1422 in the House of Representatives and S700 in the Senate, would amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide a tax credit to individuals who enter into agreements to protect the habitats of endangered and threatened species.

If the act passes, taxpayers who own property containing the habitat of a qualified species would be eligible for tax credit on any land set aside in a perpetual protection agreement. The American Farm Bureau Federation supports the bill calling the act a "win-win" for private landowners, as well as endangered and threatened species.

Federation President Bob Stallman said it is imperative to include farmers and ranchers in efforts to preserve and enhance habitat for endangered and threatened species.

Socorro County residents are not waiting around for the results before starting an easement program here in the San Acacia-San Marcial section of the Rio Grande floodplain.

"We have a unique opportunity here," said program coordinator Matthew Mitchell, "in that we don't have a levy on the east side of the river."

The Save Our Bosque Task Force, in cooperation with the Socorro Soil and Water Conservation District, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and others, organized a land trust in 1999, to allow landowners to establish conservation easement to gradually return parts of the floodplain to their natural condition.

Progress has been slow. Mitchell likens getting all the pieces, agencies, legalities and landowners together to doing a giant jigsaw puzzle.

Gina Dello Russo, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service ecologist and technical advisor for the task force, said the project finally started getting doing pilot projects in 2004.

Gov. Bill Richardson earlier this year announced a total of $3,514,000 in funding to be divided among 17 projects throughout the state designed to promote land, wildlife and clean energy.

One of the projects to receive funding was the Socorro Bosque Project Conservation Easement Project. The project will receive $294,000 for floodplain and wildlife habitat enhancement and restoration, watershed health and control of exotic species, plus a limit on future development.

"We finally got the pieces together and we finally got the powers that be to recognize the Socorro area," said Mitchell. "They money used to all go to the Albuquerque area."

Dello Russo said the money would be used to offset costs of establishing an easement such as necessary surveys and other legal requirement. In return for that funding, the landowners will make an in-kind contribution by taking care of the easement and preventing the growth of non-native vegetation.

The easements in this project will become permanent conservation easements in the active flood plain of an active river. Although the land would not be available for development under the agreement, Dello Russo said the conservation easement would actually increase the value of land in the active flood plain.

"We're asking people to build where it would be of the most value anyway, on higher ground closer to roads, power and utilities," she said.

Mitchell said there are an estimated 17,000 acres of private land in the flood plain in the San Acacia-San Marcial reach. He said the project has one easement signed and recorded and a second easement in the process. Both are on the east side of the Rio Grande.

Mitchell said they are currently working with eight families to establish permanent conservation easements and there are at least another eight have expressed an interest.

Many of the people who are landowners in the flood plain are not residents and are not aware of the easement project, he said. Some who have found out about the program are expressing an interest in it.

Asked about the Endangered Species Recovery act of 2007, Mitchell said he was not familiar enough with it to comment.

As it stands, the act would amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide incentives for farmers and ranchers to proactively preserve and enhance habitat for endangered and threatened species through tax credits. More specifically, private landowners could voluntarily enroll lands in the proposed Endangered Species Reserve Program through easements or management agreements.

Such agreements would require the landowners to take or refrain from certain activities to enhance the recovery of listed or candidate species. If accepted, they become eligible for tax credits depending on their level of participation.

"We'll be keeping an eye on it and hope for the best," Mitchell said.

ecronce@dchieftain.com

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