By Richard BangsVice President, Douglas Land Conservancy
CASTLE ROCK – Four hundred seventy-five acres
of prime ranchland lay in the gateway to East Plum Creek just outside of Sedalia. With developers knocking on his door, the
rancher turned to the Douglas Land Conservancy to save his property from being subdivided for trophy homes.
When
residents of Perry Park feared developers would carve up their beloved 77-acre “Big D” meadow, they turned to
DLC. A landowner on busy East Mainstreet of Parker could see what was happening all around and looked for a way to preserve
his land. Now there is an 80-acre oasis in the sea of homes that surround Parker. These are just a few of the stories
of the Douglas Land Conservancy, a Castle Rock-based non-profit land trust that has worked in Douglas County for 22 years
to help preserve the unique open spaces and soaring vistas that break up the waves of rooftops pushing south from Denver and
north from Colorado Springs. Started 22 years ago by a few residents who wanted to conserve open space in Douglas County,
the land trust is governed by a volunteer board of trustees and managed by Executive Director Patty Hostetler. For much of
its 22-year life, the Conservancy has been managed by the volunteer board but now has one full-time staff member in Hostetler.
Recent statewide media coverage of land conservation issues and audits of easements by the Colorado Department of Revenue
and the IRS has raised questions about the practice of granting conservation easements to gain tax advantages. Auditors
are concerned that in some cases inflated appraisals of land prior to the granting of easements are creating too large tax
benefits for landowners. Douglas Land Conservancy uses strict criteria before accepting any conservation easement with top
priority being the preservation of land for wildlife habitat, scenic views and open space. It particularly has rigid standards
for appraisals used to value land prior to the granting of any easement.
DLC Applies for National
Accreditation with Land Trust Alliance
The Douglas Land Conservancy has made application to the Land Trust Alliance to gain accreditation from this national
organization.
The LTA is recognized as the national organization that leads
the land conservation movement. It has an accreditation program that measures the soundness of organizations and requires
those organizations to follow a set of standards and practices that will ensure excellence.
Given the new regulations land trusts in Colorado now must comply with, and the
heightened scrutiny of land conservation easements, the DLC board decided early in 2008 to seek LTA accreditation.
Part of the accreditation review is
public comment. The LTA accreditation committee would like to hear from the public in our service area. That means comment
from our members, landowners we deal with, and entities that are our partners in conservation efforts.
The land trust accreditation program recognizes
land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands
forever. The public comment period is now open.
The Land Trust Accreditation
Commission, an independent program of the LTA, conducts an extensive review of each applicant’s policies and programs.
The Commission
invites public input and accepts signed, written comments on pending applications. Comments must relate to how DLC complies with national quality standards.
These standards address the ethical and technical operation of a
land trust. For the full list of standards see www.landtrustaccreditation.org/getting-accredited/2008-indicatorpractices. To learn more about the accreditation program and to submit a comment, visit,
www.landtrustaccreditation.org. Comments may also be faxed or mailed to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission,
Attn: Public Comments: (fax) 518-587-3183; (mail) 112 Spring St., Suite 204, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. The
deadline for comments is August 31, 2009.
