Agricultural and Community Trust (ACT) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. We exist to alleviate the physical, economic, social and ecological causes of deterioration in both rural and urban communities. We:
- Promote access to land, housing and productive resources for low-income people and others who are disadvantaged in their efforts to meet their basic needs;
- Preserve and protect agricultural and open space lands;
- Promote the conservation and ecologically responsible use of land and other resources;
- Support the development of a stable and productive economic base in and for local communities; and
- Encourage economic development which promotes local investment.
A Community Land Trust is...
COMMUNITY: a community organization that preserves land for open space, agriculture, urban parks, wilderness area or other public uses. It is people working together to keep their environment liveable, their food and rent affordable, their neighbors employable.
LAND: managed in a way that will protect its resource value and its contribution to the community in perpetuity.
TRUST: commitment to promoting mutually sustaining relationships between people and land by promoting the community land trust model.
What benefits can a Land Trust offer?
- Perpetual control, ownership and management of land by members of the community.
- A way for private landowners to safeguard the future of their land, create conservation easements, and receive tax benefits.
How does a Land Trust work?
- ACT acquires land, houses and other structural improvements through purchase, gift or a combination ("bargain sale").
- Land is held by ACT in perpetual trust, meaning the intention is never to allow its lands to be resold.
- Land stewards, often another non-profit organization, are responsible for caretaking the land, following a land trust agreement.
- ACT's role is then to monitor the organization to ensure that the land is cared for properly.
What land does ACT oversee currently?
APROVECHO
In western Oregon, just south of Eugene, the Aprovecho Research Center has been in trust since 1989, and is stewarded by Aprovecho, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to research and education of Sustainable Forestry, Appropriate Technology, and Organic Gardening.
Students come from around the world for a ten-week internship that offers a hands-on approach to learning. Forty acres include gardens, a managed forest, wildlife area, and an eco-friendly campus.
They can be reached at : 80574 Hazelton Rd., Cottage Grove, OR 97424; phone: (541) 942-8198; or check out their web page: www.efn.org/~apro.
FOX CREEK
In eastern Oregon, the non-profit Seven Generations oversees the Fox Creek Project. Bordering the Snake River, nearly one thousand acres encompass year-round Fox Creek and its 4-mile-long canyon, providing a unique opportunity to demonstrate the positive impact of beavers in arid, high-desert environments that have traditionally been depleted by cattle grazing. The watershed property includes four distinct zones (range, riparian, agricultural, and recreational), each with its own specific needs for maintenance, restoration, reforestation, and habitation.
The land stewards can be reached at 34811 Snake River Rd., Huntington, OR 97907; phone: (541) 675-8876; or on the web at: http://FoxCreek.7GLT.org.
The Land Trust Movement
Although Land Trusts have been protecting lands in the United States for over a century, most have been founded in the last 30 years. In 1965 there were 132 active land trusts all across the United States. Currently, there are more than 1,200 land trusts preserving millions of acres of conservation lands.
Land Trusts follow strict state and federal guidelines to organize and operate as non-profit, tax-exempt, charitable corporations in order to provide tax benefits to donors. Federal policy recognizes that conservation of natural sites benefit the public. To support that activity, income tax deductions are allowed for the value of property or of a conservation easement. To qualify for these tax benefits, the conservation donation must be granted in perpetuity and to a qualified nature conservancy organization, such as ACT. Federal Estate Tax guidelines also allow the reduction of the inheritance tax obligation of estates, after donation of a qualified conservation easement.
You Can Participate
Join ACT with a contribution of $20 or more and support preservation for future generations. Members and individual donations provide the financial foundation for ACT. You are also invited to consider a bequest or endowment through Leave a Legacy of Oregon in support of ACT. With generous donations from members, ACT saves land that would otherwise be lost.
ACT Board of Directors
As of 2007, Board members are: Mike Hatfield, Marshall McComb (President), Jim Kness, and Ulee Yanok (Treasurer). Jeremy Roth is the board Clerk.
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