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Conservation Easements

“In recognition of our need to preserve our heritage, Congress allowed an income tax deduction for owners of significant property who give up certain rights of ownership to preserve their land or buildings for future generations.”
Internal Revenue Service

Property owners may choose to donate or sell certain rights associated with his or her property – for example, the right to subdivide or develop – and a private organization such as the Capitol Land Trust agrees to hold the right to enforce the landowner’s promise not to exercise those rights. The rights are forfeited and no longer exist.

“An easement selectively targets only those rights necessary to protect specific conservation values, such as water quality or migration routes, and is individually tailored to meet a landowner’s needs. Because the land remains in private ownership, with the remainder of the rights intact, an easement property continues to provide economic benefits for the area in the form of jobs, economic activity and property taxes.”
— the Nature Conservancy

The Land Trust Alliance provides a good starting point for your research into conservation easements. According to the Alliance, “If you own land with important natural, agricultural or historic resources, donating a conservation easement can be a prudent way to both save the land you love forever and to realize significant federal tax savings.”

Click here to read a brochure about the conservation tax incentive. But remember, we’re not tax attorneys or accountants, so you’re going to want to speak with yours, to figure out of a conservation easement is right for your situation.

Continued Partnership with the Capitol Land Trust

The Griffin Neighborhood Association has been and continues to be a strong supporter of the Capitol Land Trust. We encourage residents in the Steamboat Peninsula/Griffin area to learn more about the CLT, and participate and donate financially to the CLT’s programs.

Steamboat Conservation Partnership

Steamboat Conservation Partnership logo

Throughout almost its entire history, the Griffin Neighborhood Association has sought solutions to these questions. During much of the 1990’s, the Association’s Habitat Committee undertook a variety of projects to help residents to map important features that define natural areas important to people, plants, and animals on the Peninsula. For 10 years, from 2009 through mid-2019, the GNA collaborated with the Capitol Land Trust in a unique-in-the-nation effort called the “Steamboat Conservation Partnership.” Through this partnership we set ambitious goals and exceeded them to raise more than $176,000 over 10 years to support the mission of the Partnership. This mission was, simply, to conserve the rich and diverse natural landscapes of the Steamboat Peninsula region. “Since this collaboration took effect,” according to the CLT, “we have been able to protect more than 300 acres in the Steamboat Peninsula region.” Many more acres have been identified, too, for possible future protection.

Highlights of the Partnership include:

Community outreach and fundraising by the SCP helped to explain to property owners the advantages and importance of conservation easements.

Although the Steamboat Conservation Partnership has now ended, the GNA remains committed to the mission of the Partnership.

Join the Capitol Land Trust

Video presented by the Capitol Land Trust

Make a Contribution Now in Any Amount

Click the “Donate Now” button to be taken to a secure page from the Capitol Land Trust where you can make an immediate contribution:

DonateNowButton

Or write a check in any amount (payable to “Capitol Land Trust”) and mail directly to

Capitol Land Trust
4405 7th Ave SE, Suite 306
Lacey, WA 98503

Capitol Land Trust is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and your contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

Griffin Area Topographical Maps

National Geographic provides free downloads of 7.5 minute topographical maps. Our area is encompassed within five separate map packages. Each map package is five pages in length and can be easily printed from a home printer. Page 1 is an overview map showing the topo in context. Pages 2 through 5 are the standard USGS topo cut in quarters to fit on standard printers.

Click here to find your map and download it directly from the National Geographic’s web site.

Or, download from this page any or all of the five map packages that cover our area.

topo_maps

The northern tip of Steamboat Peninsula (the upper right red marker) is the Squaxin Island grid.

The area around Flapjack Point, on Eld Inlet, is the Tumwater grid. This is the lower right red marker, on the image above.

The southern end of Steamboat Peninsula is within the Summit Lake grid.

West of Summit Lake is within the Kamilche Valley grid.

A sliver of Steamboat Peninsula, near Hudson Cove and Cougar Point on Totten Inlet, is within the Shelton grid.