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For Additional Information Contact:
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For Immediate Release:
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The Nebraska Land Trust Opens Office, Hires Director
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(Lincoln, NE) The Nebraska Land Trust, a non-profit conservation organization, has opened a headquarters in Lincoln and hired Dave Sands as its first Executive Director. According to John Ellsworth, Chairman of the Trust's Board of Directors, “With these significant steps, the Trust continues to move forward with its mission of protecting Nebraska‘s wildlife habitat, scenic lands and historical sites by utilizing conservation easements on private land."
Founded in 2001, The Nebraska Land Trust has preserved more than 1,000 acres to date, through donations of conservation easements along the lower Platte and Elkhorn Rivers, on the western fringe of the Omaha metropolitan area. The lower Platte River is a priority for the organization, because of its importance for wildlife, native plant communities, water quality, scenic vistas, recreation, and tourism. “The lower stretch of the Platte River is a unique part of the state,” Ellsworth observed, “and an especially important resource for people in Omaha, Lincoln and places in between.”
The conservation easement concept allows a landowner to donate or sell certain development rights to their land, by forever passing these rights to a land protection organization. If the easement is donated to a qualified non-profit land trust, it can result in federal and state income tax deductions for the landowner. As the development potential of land grows, so does the donation value of a conservation easement, increasing the incentive for protection. Conservation easements can lower estate taxes as well.
A conservation easement may also be tailored to meet the individual needs of a landowner, allowing activities that are compatible with conservation, while restricting those that are not. For example, agriculture and hunting are typically allowed, so long as wetlands, native woodlands, and grasslands are protected. Sands described conservation easements as “a voluntary, flexible, incentive based approach to conservation on private land, which is important in a state where 97% of the land is in private hands.”
In addition to its focus on conservation easements, The Nebraska Land Trust will accept gifts of land under certain conditions. The organization will also participate in other conservation efforts that seek collaboration when it comes to private land.
“As a land trust we naturally have a great respect for property rights,” Sands explained, “so when it comes to conservation issues that affect private land, we support solutions that are based on appropriate and effective incentives. Conservation easements can offer a variety of incentives to the landowner, while providing permanent protection for the land.”
The Nebraska Land Trust’s office is located in Suite 1712 of the U.S. Bank Building, at 233 S. 13th Street in downtown Lincoln. Those interested in obtaining additional information can call the office at (402) 438-LAND (5263), or email dsandsnlt@alltel.net.
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