Rainy Weather and the river banks

I'm sure that at some point over the last few weeks an over flowing river, creek, or flash flood has made you change your course as you drive throughout your daily commute.  If it hasn't, apparently your vehicle is a little higher off the ground than mine.  Some of these creeks and streams that are overflowing their banks have done it for centuries, and human interaction has not caused the problem. 

However, there are some cases where water flow is added to the creeks because the removal of vegetation and the addition of impervious coverage.  Less places for rain water to infiltrate back into the ground means more run off which makes its way into our waterways overflowing the banks.  Developed farmland is one such culprit, and organizations such as The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County, help to provide options in ways to protect these lands from development.  If you are in a position of holding land and looking for options as to how to sustain it, or protect it for future generations we hope that you'll consider contacting TLC to learn about your options!!

Now is the Best Time in History to 

Preserve Your Land! 

 Taxes rates are high, that's bad news, but the good news is that favorable tax incentives and offsets for private landowners are the best that they have been in history -- especially for working family farmers and landowners of modest means -- who preserve their land with a voluntary conservation agreement.

 But conservation minded landowners only have until DECEMBER 21st 2013 to take advantage of the enhanced tax deduction. NOTE: Landowners must contact TLC by OCTOBER 1st 2013 at the latest to begin the conservation process. 

When landowners donate a conservation easement to TLC they maintain ownership and management of their land and can sell or pass the land on to their heirs, while foregoing some or all of the future development rights. 

 The enhanced incentive applies to a landowner's federal income tax. Specifically it:

• Raises the deduction a donor can take for donating a voluntary conservation agreement from 30% of their income in any year to 50%;
• Allows many farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100% of their income; and
• Increases the number of years over which a donor can take the deduction from six to sixteen years. 

If you are interested in preserving you land, have questions about how tax incentives work or would like to hear about TLC's landowner conservation financing options, contact Gwen Lacy, Executive Director at 610-347-0347 ext. 102 or director@tlcforscc.org.