Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M 81 Robyn Erlenbush is a third- generation Montanan who lives in Bozeman. She owns ERA Land- mark Real Estate with offices in Bozeman, Big Sky, Livingston, and Ennis along with NAI Landmark Commercial, and Intermountain Property Management. robyn@eralandmark.com pending on the complexity of the project and how quickly a landowner wants to move. We welcome the chance to visit with landowners and discuss their individual needs." Two other considerations come up under the "why" category of establishing a conservation easement. If the land is donated to a trust, it may qualify as a charitable contribution and have certain tax benefits for the landowner. If the land is sold to a land trust, the property is resold down the line to either a federal agency or a private buyer that will continue the conservation enhancement. Either of these options may be reason enough for a landown- er to consider placing their property into a conservation easement. e ability to correctly value a con- servation easement is instrumental in the initial stages. e key is to assess how much placing the easement on the property will reduce its value if resold. e difference between the current market value and the new value with restrictions becomes the amount that can be attributed to the value of the conservation easement. Usually the addition of the easement does bring down the overall financial worth of the land. For instance, if a property was subdivided into a multitude of residential parcels, it would most likely be worth more than agricultural land as a whole. is is the rationale behind the federal tax deduction given to offset the reduced value from creating an easement. To further illustrate, an easement that does not allow homes to be built in an area with river access will have a larger value most likely than an easement which is developed to protect a specific species of wildlife. is type of valuation is completed by a professional who specializes in easement appraisals such as Clark Wheeler of Norman C. Wheeler & Associates in Bozeman. Southwest Montana is fortunate to have a multitude of people and organizations with the common goal of preserving what makes the area so beautiful and inimitable. In order to keep any area special, it is important to retain some open space and trails. A recent success story for the Gallatin Valley Land Trust is the completion of their 100th conservation easement, which protects an additional 959 acres of land that has been farmed by a single family since 1876. e property is north of Bozeman and includes both wetlands and a wildlife wintering area. Accord- ing to their website, overall GVLT has "conserved over 45,000 acres of production river bottoms, prime agricultural lands, and critical wildlife corridors throughout the Gallatin, Shields, and Paradise Valleys." e Montana As- sociation of Land Trusts conveys many success sto- ries on their website of land throughout the state which has been placed in conservation easements fulfilling the goal to protect and preserve. As of this writing, MALT published that Montana land trusts and public agencies have over 1,000 conservation easements that cover over 2.1 million acres. By accessing www. montanalandtrusts.org/successes, you can read a number of examples of how private land can be conserved and/or benefit the larger population when careful planning is executed. Stories include the Sieben Live Stock Company ranch near Cascade and the Matador Ranch south of Malta, which maintains grasslands as habitat. e accounts truly make for additional quality reading. A side topic to explore is that being conservation-minded doesn't only have to come in the form of establishing conservation ease- ments. A working cattle ranch near Two Dot, Montana, exemplifies an example of what conservation can mean. Jed and Annie Evjene, managers of the 26,000-acre American Fork Ranch, have made it onto the exclusive list of seven ranches nationally that are included in the Environmental Stewardship Award program. e ranch, which has been around since 1882, is a prime example of environmental stewardship, conservation and sustainability – a true champion of "conservation in action." While so many considerations go into the decision of whether or not a large landowner should put their property into a con- servation easement, the benefits for the neighbors and future generations is substantial. Our heritage in Montana is one of good stewardship of the land and we are truly blessed in our state to have so many caring individuals that are leaving these legacies for all to come. Fink Easement on the Madison River AS OF THIS WRITING, MALT PUBLISHED THAT MONTANA LAND TRUSTS AND PUBLIC AGENCIES HAVE OVER 1,000 CONSERVATION EASEMENTS THAT COVER OVER 2.1 MILLION ACRES.

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