Wildlife Land Trust

I only own 5 acres but I think it is one of the most beautiful places ever. It’s not worth a lot, money-wise, but we have deer and an endless variety of birds and wild irises and mushrooms and exotic-looking wildflowers and we even saw a mom and baby bear once. Streams run on both sides of our property and timber companies own the land behind us and across the street from us. I worry about this little slice of heaven someday being destroyed.

I heard about the Wildlife Land Trust (http://www.wlt.org/index.asp) and it seemed like the perfect solution. There are different options for donating your land to the trust. You can retain ownership of your land but provide a wildlife easement, you can donate the property outright and you can even donate the land but live on it until you die. The site offers a lot of information about legalities and tax benefits. I actually filled out a form online to see if my land was appropriate. I admit I never got a response, which was discouraging, but I still think it’s a worthwhile idea to explore, perhaps if not through this particular organization (The Humane Society of the United States) then through another one, like Nature Conservancy.