2008 Statewide Conference
Taking Pride in Texas: Conservation at Work in Your Community
February 21-23, 2008
Marriot – Austin South
4415 South IH-35
Austin, TX 78744
Underwritten by:
Sponsored by:
Private Lands Program
Conference Presentations
- Plenary – Conservation Success Stories
- Water Quality Monitoring
- Eric Mendelman, Texas Stream Teams (formerly Texas Watch) of River Systems Institute
Land that is developed without proper erosion controls and sensitivity to the local natural environment can cause aesthetic and ecological damage to downstream properties, groundwater recharge features, and aquatic life and its habitat. Water quality monitoring is one tool that landowners can use to scientifically assess natural conditions and evaluate and report changes. This workshop provides a brief introduction to procedures for measuring dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, temperature, water clarity, and bacteria. Participants will be given information about how to complete their training if they wish to become certified as a Texas Stream Teams Monitor.
- On the Waterfront: An Update
- Todd Votteler, Ph.D., Guadalupe Blanco River Trust; Wendy Gordon, Ph.D., Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; Robert E. Mace, Texas Water Development Board; Chad Norris, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
The state of our water resources is now a fundamental issue for Texas land trusts. As an example, springs are currently a hot topic among the water community. This session will start with a discussion about Texas springs and their importance. From there we will receive a discussion about the ongoing process to identify what each Texas aquifer will look like in the future. This will determine how we will manage our aquifers and, therefore, the likely future for our springs. Finally, we will tie all of this together with a look at Texas’s recently created program for protecting instream flows and freshwater inflows to bays and estuaries.
- Running the Numbers: The Essentials of Conservation Economics – Handout
- David Braun and Thomas Hall, Braun and Associates; Burgess Jackson, Attorney-at- Law
Running the Numbers will examine the financial effects of conservation gifts and sales for the landowner. Particular attention will be paid to the federal income and estate tax benefits of conservation easement donations. The class will examine the nature of charitable deductions and limitations on deductions for variously situated donors. Running the Numbers will consider the use of conservation easements as an estate-planning tool for landowners with potential estate tax liability. The class will also examine the financial consequences for the landowner who sells (rather than donates) property to a land trust, including bargain sale transactions.
- Dealing with Oil, Gas & Other Minerals on Conservation Lands
- Catherine Howell, The Nature Conservancy of Texas; Peter A. Vermillion, Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP
The goal of this session is to provide participants with basic knowledge of Texas mineral law and educate them on mineral issues, which arise on conservation lands. Discussion will include: conservation restrictions for development of minerals, severed mineral rights, mineral extraction on conservation easement lands, and tax implications of reserved and severed minerals on donations.
- Plenary–Where’s the Money? Private Funding Innovations for Land Conservation
- Story Clark, National Expert and Author
Story Clark is a consultant and instructor specializing in land conservation strategy and finance, advising conservation organizations and foundations in the Rocky Mountain Region and nationally. She has worked on land conservation and land use planning issues for 30 years for the Jackson Hole Land Trust, as founding executive director of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, and as a planner for Teton County. Her consulting clients have included the Green River Land Trust, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. She is a recipient of the National Park Foundation’s Citizen Leadership medal for continued leadership in the preservation and protection of America’s scenic and historic heritage. She is a frequent instructor and speaker on conservation finance. Her book, A Field Guide To Conservation Finance, published by Island Press, was released in 2007. Ms. Clark lives with her husband, Bill Resor, and two daughters on their family ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
- A Survey of Funding and Financing Strategies for Land Conservation
- Story Clark; Mary Anne Piacentini, Katy Prairie Conservancy
Land trusts often must rely partially or entirely on private funding and borrowing to pay for land protection. However, many land conservation professionals are not familiar with the full range of financial strategies available to them. This highly interactive workshop will review a broad array of funding and financing techniques, explain how to position an organization to increase the likelihood of financing success, and offer a selection of case studies.
- The Landowner Perspective: Why a Conservation Easement Met My Conservation Intent
- Moderator: George Cofer, Hill Country Conservancy; Landowners: Jan Cato, Tom Foyt, Phillip Ferguson
Hear the voices of the land as a panel of landowners share their experiences conserving their property.
- Show Me the Money: Nature Tourism and Managing Land for Conservation
- Jason L. Johnson, Texas Cooperative Extension; Stan Meador, X Bar Ranch Lodge & Nature Retreat
Show Me the Money is an interactive demonstration that is intended to describe the typical flow of money that takes place between a hunter and a Texas landowner providing land access. This program highlights the many beneficiaries that gain from the 1.2 million Texas hunters that travel across the state annually. In addition, some demographics and general business marketing implications are identified to enable interested entities capitalize and expand their understanding of this clientele. Attendees will gain a greater appreciation of the economic value that hunting plays in the rural and travel-related economy of Texas. Part II of this interactive session explores the ever-growing industry of nature tourism. Learn from a case study example how to implement these tools and put them into action on your property.
- Farm and Ranch Land Conservation Program: An Update on the State’s Purchase of Development Rights Program and the NRCS’ Conservation Easement Programs
- Sheri Land, TX General Land Office; Claude Ross, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
This session will inform and update workshop participants about the Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) Program of the Texas General Land Office and update conservation easement programs administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service available to private landowners and land trust organizations.
- Standards & Practices: Helping Land Trusts Navigate the Path to Success
- Sylvia Bates, Director of Standards and Research, Land Trust Alliance
Now, for the first time, land trusts have at their fingertips an authoritative curriculum and a suite of integrated tools to help you work more efficiently, save land more effectively and ensure that your work will last. This workshop will review how land trusts can navigate the path to success. It starts with a review of Land Trust Standards and Practices, then describes the process of using the Assessing Your Organization diagnostic tool, followed by an introduction to the new online curriculum resource, The Learning Center, where you can take courses, search for documents and connect with others. This session lays out the approach the Land Trust Alliance has developed to help the most land trusts implement Land Trust Standards and Practices in the most efficient way.
- Is Accreditation Right for your Land Trust?
- Jennifer Lorenz, Legacy Land Trust/Land Trust Accreditation Commissioner
Not familiar with the land trust accreditation program? Wondering what changes were made the program as a result of the 2007 pilot program? Session leader Jennifer Lorenz, a representative of the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, will provide an introduction to the accreditation program and describe the accreditation process, program requirements, and benefits of accreditation. Included will be a discussion of developments and changes that resulted from the 2007 pilot program. Gather tips and pointers that pilot land trusts have offered, and have your questions answered during the Q&A period.
- Effective Monitoring of Conservation Easements
- Dan Snodgrass, The Nature Conservancy of Texas; Wesley Newman, Katy Prairie Conservancy
Effective Monitoring of Conservation Easements will actively help land trusts develop a template for monitoring easements and include discussion of the process of monitoring easements.
Texas Land Trust Council