Support Property Tax Relief for Wildlife Conservation

North Carolina state law provides for preferential property tax treatment for landowners commercially managing farm and forest lands. Landowners who want to manage for wildlife habitat are often assessed "highest and best use" tax rates.

North Carolina's Wildlife Threatened by Property Taxes

· Higher taxes cause loss of wildlife habitat. North Carolina loses 100,000 acres of forests annually – that’s 5,000 acres lost each week. North Carolina also leads the nation in the loss of farmland. These rural, privately owned lands are essential for wildlife habitat and other benefits.

· Higher taxes discourage wildlife management. Landowners want to do right by wildlife. Unfortunately, current property tax laws force landowners to pay higher property tax rates if they switch from commercial production to managing for wildlife or conservation benefits.

· Higher taxes discourage state conservation programs. North Carolina rewards landowners for good management with conservation programs. Increasingly, these good stewards are forced to pay higher taxes if a conservation easement is placed on their land or they reduce management intensity as part of a WHIP contract.

Landowners and Wildlife Benefit with Property Tax Relief

Creating an equal field for landowners, no matter if they manage for agriculture, forest or wildlife, will help landowners and the state meet their conservation objectives. Among other benefits, property tax relief would expand wildlife habitat and offer private landowners greater choice and certainty.

Property Tax Relief: A Menu of Solutions

In the last legislative session, several property tax proposals emerged to provide landowners greater choice in how they managed their land for wildlife. These included a Senate Bill to provide up to $2000 tax credit towards property taxes paid on qualifying wildlife lands. House Bill 1889 would allow up to 100 acres per county to be enrolled in a new a wildlife use value category similar to the forestry and agricultural categories. Both approaches require written wildlife management plan be followed and define priority habitat types that would be eligible for enrollment. At the end of the session, House Bill 1889 passed the House by a vote of 93 to 22. The Legislature can and should address this issue when it reconvenes in May 2008.

ACTION NEEDED:

Help ensure property tax reform passes in 2008. Please Act!

1) Contacting your Legislators and county representatives about the need for property tax relief for wildlife conservation and the need for a solution in 2008; and

2) Contacting Tom Bean at the Wildlife Federation with a personal story about property tax concerns and wildlife management. We need good stories to share with Legislators.

For questions, comments or additional information, please contact: Tom Bean tbean@mindspring.com