The Conservation Land Tax Credit is capped at $2M. These area residents want it increased.

Kathryn Gallerani

Standard-Times

Published May 13, 2022 

ROCHESTER — Russ and Wendy Keeler of Rochester already have a conservation restriction on a majority of their property but are waiting on a state incentive program to protect an additional 12 acres.

Since 2011, Massachusetts landowners have utilized the Conservation Land Tax Credit to preserve land. It’s an economic incentive that’s so attractive, there’s a three-year wait list.

The problem is there is a $2 million annual cap.

The Keelers support efforts to increase the cap, having preserved land in the past through a federal conservation tax deduction to keep it from being developed and waiting to protect the adjacent land through the Conservation Land Tax Credit program.

When a property is certified for the Conservation Land Tax Credit, landowners can get some of their donated value back in a tax credit.

“Our primary reason for being where we are is because we like it the way it is, and these programs really help us make that permanent,” Russ Keeler said. “Once you put it in these programs, the land is going to be in conservation forever.”

Keeler said the state’s tax credit is an important incentive, and the raising of the cap would benefit other private landowners who want to conserve land and not wait the three years they have been waiting. He said its passing would presumably make a difference in getting their project to the front of the line.

“The $2 million over a large state like this doesn’t save much land,” he said. “I think it’s a good time to pass this program. Hopefully it’s a good time to get this passed because it does make a difference.”

He doesn’t discount the fact it can be a difficult decision to permanently close the door on developing your land in the future, but they want to contribute to preserving the rural character of Rochester.

Reaching out to Buzzards Bay Coalition

Motivated by the conservation tax credit, the Keelers reached out to the Buzzards Bay Coalition about protecting more of the property.

According to Brendan Annett, Buzzards Bay Coalition’s vice president of watershed protection, their land has long been a high priority for preservation as it lies atop the drinking water aquifer for four communities.

For more than 24,000 residents in Rochester, Marion, Mattapoisett and Fairhaven, the water that flows from their tap first flows beneath their land, he said. The property also contains more than 1,000 feet of scenic rural road frontage directly across the street from an active farm.

The Buzzards Bay Coalition’s focus area is from Little Compton and Westport up to South Plymouth and along the Mattapoisett River.

The House of Representatives has voted to increase the annual cap of $2 million to $5 million but the Senate has yet to vote on the tax credit that gives qualified landowners a financial incentive to protect their land.

More than 14,000 acres preserved since its inception

The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts is another one of several conservation groups asking for the Legislature to increase the cap on the program that provides a state income tax credit to landowners who donate certified conservation land. Through the incentive program, they can receive up to $75,000.

Emily Myron, the policy manager for the Nature Conservancy of Massachusetts, and Stephen Long, a director of policy and partnerships, agree that the program has been successful with more than 14,000 acres across the state having been preserved since its inception.

Through the incentive program, landowners can receive up to $75,000 that will be applied to their tax liability in the tax year they are hoping to use the credit, Myron said. If they owe less than $75,000, they are able to get a check from the state.

Long said the program really recognizes the donation value of what a landowner provides to a land trust, a state agency or a municipality.

“It’s a really nice way to recognize and provide an incentive for a landowner, and right now we’re in a situation where there are a lot of people who are land rich and cash poor, and there are a lot of people who are going through a big generational transition where they may not have heirs to own or manage the property,” he said.

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