White Creek Farmer Conserves 119 Acres
August 22 , 2006 / News archive
The Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) is pleased to announce that Peter Niles of State Route 22 in White Creek has conveyed a conservation easement on his 119 acre property to the nonprofit land trust organization. Niles’ action brings the total land conserved to date by ASA to 5,553 acres on 46 properties in Washington and northern Rensselaer counties.
“I made a living here farming. My dad farmed this land before me…and who knows how many people farmed it before him. The next generation will be able to try to do the same. I don’t want to see houses here. Conservation is a good way to hang on to this farmland. If I ever decide to sell it, it’s still going to be farmland.” stated Mr. Niles as he completed the easement process.
Niles still makes a living in agriculture, even though he rents his own fertile fields along Route 22 in White Creek to a neighboring dairy farmer. Niles repairs equipment at Salem Farm Supply during the week and helps the Chamber Brothers on their farm outside Salem on weekends. In his spare time, he cuts and sells a little firewood from his woodland. It was a poster featuring the Vermont Land Trust at Salem Farm Supply that caught his attention and introduced him to land conservation.
Niles was intrigued with the concept of permanent land conservation and he started asking around about land trusts and conservation. Conservation sounded like something in which he would want to enroll his own land. He was concerned that, even if he sold his land to a farmer, there was no guarantee that a future generation might not sell it to a developer. An acquaintance gave him a newsletter from the Agricultural Stewardship Association and he made a discreet e-mail inquiry to start the process.
Utilizing private contributions, ASA was able to offer modest financial compensation in exchange for the conservation easement on Mr. Niles’ land which straddles State Route 22. His arrangement with ASA is called a bargain sale, part donation and part sale, based on the value of the easement according to an appraisal.
The donation portion of a bargain sale can be claimed as a charitable deduction for income tax purposes. Congress passed a bill this summer, signed by the President last week, enhancing the terms for easement donors to claim their full charitable deduction. Furthermore, starting this year, New York State is offering an income tax credit, in effect an annual reimbursement, equal to 25% of the property taxes (maximum $5,000) for donors of conservation easements. It is the first state in the nation to offer such an incentive.
Teri Ptacek, ASA’s Executive Director, commented “On behalf of all who appreciate and benefit from the beautiful working landscape of this area, we truly thank Peter Niles for his generous gift. Our economy, environment, culture, and quality of life all depend on our farms and forests. Protecting them will ensure that they are always there to sustain us.”
The Lamar Sign Company agreed to terminate its billboard lease on the property several years early in order to accommodate Mr. Niles’s conservation intent and to contribute to the rural character of the community.
Snowmobiling was another motivating factor in Niles decision to put an easement on his land. “I like snowmobiling. I enjoy seeing them come across the flats and head for the hills. I can feel it by their sound – I’ve been there – I know what it feels like to rev up as you approach the hill. If houses were built here, chances are the snowmobile trail would be interrupted. This way, there’s a better chance the trail won’t be broken.”
Niles advises other landowners that the easement process was easy. “ASA did all the work – the paperwork, title search, legal details. The price was fair and reasonable and helped me do what I wanted with my land. I just had to show up at the right time.”
ASA is a member-based nonprofit land trust that assists landowners with conserving their farmland and forestland.
