logo
Donate
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
    • Glossary
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Nonprofit Newswire | Land Conservation as Revenue Generation

Rick Cohen
July 9, 2010

 

July 8, 2010; Source: Litchfield County Times | How might land conservation help local municipal budgets? The Winchester Land Trust has pitched the idea of buying some 1,140 acres of land owned by the town of Winsted. The properties are mostly open spaces near lakes, streams, and the Rugg Brook Reservoir, the kind of lands conservation groups try to acquire and protect. In this case, the Land Trust would approach the state for a grant enabling it to purchase and conserve the parcels. The town would benefit by getting revenues from the sales, according to the article, for as much as $1 million.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

After initially reacting positively, some of the town’s selectmen are having second thoughts. Some suggest that they could do better by selling the sites to adjacent property owners, thereby moving the properties to the tax rolls and generating future tax revenues. Others are concerned about the up-front costs of surveys and appraisals that would have to be done for all of the properties before the sale would be consummated, money that would probably have to be fronted by the municipal government with the hope that it would be paid back at the closing.

Others raised questions about the Land Trust itself, which currently owns only 190 acres total, and one person suggested that the Trust’s current properties are poorly maintained and littered with garbage. The Trust owes money on another purchase, and some say that somehow the grant from the state might be related to dealing with that debt, though the Trust’s executive director called that allegation a “vicious and unprovoked attack.” Notwithstanding the objections, this is an interesting scheme of using land conservation for the dual objectives of environmental protection and municipal revenue generation.—Rick Cohen

About the author
Rick Cohen

Rick joined NPQ in 2006, after almost eight years as the executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Before that he played various roles as a community worker and advisor to others doing community work. He also worked in government. Cohen pursued investigative and analytical articles, advocated for increased philanthropic giving and access for disenfranchised constituencies, and promoted increased philanthropic and nonprofit accountability.

More about: Nonprofit News

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
Block, Bridge, and Build: A Framework to Forge a More Democratic Future
Julia Roig
Boston Groups Come Together to Face the “Existential Threat” to Nonprofits
Rebekah Barber
Nonprofit News Media Leaders Are Struggling to Stop Leaning on the Foundations That Say They Should Branch Out More
Katherine Fink
Judge Rules Trump Takeover of Nonprofit a “Gross Usurpation of Power”
Lauren Girardin
Being Anchored: The Challenge of Cultural Change
Rita A. Hodges
Scaling Impact: How Mergers Can Advance Housing in Communities
Priya Jayachandran

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
May 27th, 2:00 pm ET

Ask the Nonprofit Lawyer

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
June 26th, 2:00 pm ET

From Performance Management to Mutual Commitment

Fostering a Culture of Joyful Accountability

Register

    
You might also like
US Capitol Building
Tax Provision Would Give Trump Administration Unilateral...
Rebekah Barber and Isaiah Thompson
A piggy bank wearing a graduation hat and standing on a pile of cash, symbolizing how endowments for academic institutions can be accessed in difficult times.
Endowments Aren’t Blank Checks—but Universities Can Rely...
Ellen P. Aprill
Saving AmeriCorps: What’s at Stake and Why We Must Act Now
Hillary Kane

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.