Senator Jon Ossoff made news a few weeks ago, backing federal efforts via the Land and Water Conservation Fund to protect two sections of forest land in Northwest Georgia. As reported by Dave Williams of the Capitol Beat News Service, Senator Ossoff’s letter to the Forest Service noted the land’s proximity to urban centers put the tracts at risk to be developed into non-forest uses. “Thus, it is urgent that these lands be secured via the LWCF.”
Georgia is a rapidly growing state, and that growth is no longer contained within the sprawling Atlanta region. This growth, and the development demands that come with it, place land currently held for forests and farms at risk for development into uses that would provide landowners even higher returns.
Georgia has a longstanding program to help incentivize landowners to keep land used for agriculture, forestry, or other environmentally sensitive purposes from seeking returns that come with conversion to other uses. The state’s Conservation Use Valuation Assessment (CUVA) program allows a significant reduction in assessed valuations for landowners that commit to non-development of their property for a ten-year period.
This dramatically lowers the property taxes on the property for a decade. If the landowner decides to break the covenant early, they are required to pay back double the amount of tax abatement they were granted, plus interest, as a penalty.
There’s a new-ish form of land conversion that is causing concern in the most rural parts of Georgia – those areas that have been among the last to experience the economic and population growth that are top of mind with conservationists. It’s also a battle that splits conservation activist groups because it pits differing environmental goals against each other.
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