Volunteering

Thank you very much for your interest in helping the Interior Alaska Land Trust.

In order to make best use of your time, please let us know at interioraklandtrust@gmail.com what type of activities you are interested in. Some of these activities can be done at home, some at the Land Trust office, and some require attending committee meetings.

Computer work:

• Keeping the name/address database current (one hour per week).
• Updating the web site (five hours or more).

Researching current events of interest to the Land Trust, and reporting to the board:

• Keeping track of City issues (one hour per week).
• Keeping track of Borough issues (one hour per week).
• Keeping in touch with other Alaska land trusts (one hour per week).
• Keeping track of Land Trust Alliance (one hour per week).

Newsletter:

• Writing, putting together pieces (eight hours, twice per year).
• Formatting the newsletter (eight hours, twice per year).
• Mailing newsletter (four hours, twice per year).

Land/Easement work:

• Join a committee to work on an on-going easement negotiation (one - four hours per week).
• Visiting existing protected property (two - eight hours, at least once per year).

Committees to work on public policy issues:

• Wetland development.
• Trails.
• Chena Flats Greenbelt project.

Other:

• Any other activities that you would like to do that you think would benefit the Land Trust.

Conservation Options

Conservation Easement

Leaves land in private ownership. Can result in an income tax deduction and reduced property and estate taxes.

A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. It allows you to continue to own and use your land and to sell it or pass it on to heirs. A conservation easement is a flexible land protection tool. It must protect the land's conservation values, but it can also be fashioned to meet the personal and financial needs of the landowner. A conservation easement donation can qualify as a tax deductible charitable donation. For income tax purposes, the value of the donation is the difference between the land's value with the easement and its value without the easement. Placing an easement on your property may also result in property tax savings. Perhaps most important, a conservation easement can be essential for passing land on to the next generation By removing the land's development potential, the easement can lower its market value, which in turn lowers estate taxes.

Land Donation

Can result in a substantial income tax deduction. Can be structured in a way that allows you to continue to live on the land or to receive a life income.

A donation of land to a land trust assures that the conservation values of the land will be protected (although our focus here is on conservation land, commercial and residential properties can also be donated to a land trust, with the understanding that they will be sold to support the land trust's conservation work). Donating the land releases you from the responsibility of managing the land and can provide substantial income tax deductions and estate tax benefits (while avoiding any capital gains taxes that would have resulted from selling the property).

Donating a remainder interest in land: You can continue to live on the land by donating a remainder interest and retaining a reserved life estate. When you or those you've specified die or release their life interests, the land trust will have full title and control over the property. You can continue to enjoy your land and may be eligible for an income tax deduction when the gift is made. The deduction is based on the fair market value of the donated property less the expected value of the reserved life estate.

Donating land by will: If you want to own and control land during your lifetime, but assure its protection after your death, you can donate it by will. You should make sure that the land trust is willing to receive the gift, and would be able to manage it according to your wishes.

Your Next Steps

If you have land you would like to see protect for future generations, learn more about the options available.

• Contact the Interior Alaska Land Trust or another land trust.
• Talk with your own legal and financial advisors
• Read further.

The Interior Alaska Land Trust has several publications that discuss easement and other conservation techniques. They include "Conservation Options: A Landowner's Guide," "Preserving Family Lands, and The Conservation Easement Handbook." These are available for sale or loan.

What Is A Land Trust?

The Interior Alaska Land Trust (IALT) is a non-profit organization, started in 1995. Its mission is to work with Interior Alaska landowners to safeguard the character of the land and the natural resources of our community. IALT is a private, tax-exempt charitable organization that works with private landowners to acquire, protect or manage natural, scenic, recreational, agricultural, historic, or cultural aspects of property.

Land trusts can be found in every state. There are more than 1,600 of them, some over 100 years old. There are seven just in Alaska. Land trusts have protected over 12 million acres of land in the U.S. They are mostly local organizations, although there is a national parent organization the Land Trust Alliance, that provides professional support. In every case, land trusts work only with willing land owners, and support land issues that are important to their own communities.

In the Fairbanks area, there are several purposes that the Interior Alaska Land Trust serves. Continuing development throughout the community has brought attention to land use issues. The pace of building, though not at frantic as during pipeline days, is beginning to turn the last remaining undeveloped areas into small pockets, and cutting up trails and greenways that people thought were protected.

Private land that people acquired 30 or more years ago has increased tremendously in value. Often these are large parcels, and their owners find that their heirs would be required to sell some of the land just to pay the inheritance taxes. In these cases, the Interior Alaska Land Trust can hold an easement on the land, reducing its estate tax value, protecting open space, or connecting greenways and trails.

The Interior Alaska Land Trust works with private landowners, allowing land to stay in private ownership and management, while protecting conservation values for the public. Our most common approach is to use a conservation easement, a voluntary contract between the landowner and the land trust that runs in perpetuity along with the deed. Each conservation easement is tailored to meet the needs of the landowner and the character of the land. The landowner gives up certain rights to the land, to preserve its conservation values. IALT takes on the responsibility of monitoring the conservation easement, ensuring that the property's conservation values are preserved. The partnership between the land trust and the property owner benefits the whole community.

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