On March 1, the Georgia Senate passed Environment Georgia-backed legislation to establish the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit, which rewards landowners who choose to permanently protect their land from development.

In order to address increasing sprawl and development, Environment Georgia advocated giving tax incentives to landowners who want to keep their land undeveloped for future generations.

Gov. Perdue announced his support for the proposal at a January press conference at the Ocmulgee Wildlife Management Area. Both the House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate supported the legislation unanimously.

Environment Georgia helped lead a coalition that included The Nature Conservancy, Georgia Conservation Voters, the Georgia Forestry Association and other land conservation organizations to educate legislators and aid passage of the bill.

The Georgia Conservation Tax Credit works by giving a 25 percent state income tax credit to landowners who donate land to a qualified land trust, state or local government, or those who keep their land but voluntarily agree to give up development rights in exchange for the tax credit.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources ensures that the land being donated meets a specific conservation purpose, like helping to keep water clean.

Depending on the amount of land donated, landowners can receive a credit of up to $250,000 for individuals and up to $500,000 for corporations. The credit can be used over the course of six years.

Rapid development
Georgia’s natural landscape is threatened by rapid development. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Georgia has the third fastest development rate in the nation for farms and woodlands. Between 1992 and 1997, more than 1 million acres of land were developed.

“Whether you’ve lived in Georgia for 20 months or 20 years, you understand the significant threats posed by overdevelopment to our favorite natural areas,” said Environment Georgia Director Jill Johnson. “The Georgia Conservation Tax Credit will be an important tool to help protect clean water, clean up air pollution and maintain a high quality of life.”

A land conservation tax credit was originally proposed by Gov. Perdue’s Land Conservation Advisory Council in 2004, but was absent from the Georgia Land Conservation Act that passed the Legislature in 2005.

The Georgia Conservation Tax Credit is based on a successful North Carolina program that has helped protect more than 138,600 acres of land in the state since 1983 at a fraction of the cost of the state purchasing the land outright.