Case Study: Conservation Easements and the Conservation Easement Tax Credit
Landowner: Buzzards Roost Partners LLC
County: Mesa
Acres conserved under easement: 52
Benefits: Legacy orchard protection, agricultural economy preservation, worker equity
Year conserved: 2009
Tax credits leveraged: Yes
Partner land trust: Colorado West Land Trust
““There is a pretty small area in Colorado where it’s possible to consistently produce peach crops.
If land is not available in that 20-square-mile area, there are no peach farms.” ”
Saving the Palisade Peach and Protecting Farm Workers
Rancho Durazno is a 40-acre farm in Palisade. Bordered on two sides by Bureau of Land Management lands, the farm also sits next to about 34 acres of non-irrigated desert habitat through which a variety of wildlife pass, from coyote, fox, mule deer, elk, bear and mountain lion to birds of prey. The fruit trees are irrigated by the Colorado River and, because of where the farm is situated, close to De Beque Canyon, the trees are protected from spring freezes. “These are perfect conditions for peach production,” says Gwen Cameron, the lead farmer.
Access to land is critical to sustain Colorado’s fruit-growing industry. But because of the increasing development pressure in the Western Slope region, available farmland is getting harder to come by. Ironically, the area’s popularity stems from the abundance of peach farms and wineries. Protecting the farm was key to maintaining a critical quantity of peach-farming acreage needed - and enabling permanent protection would require a conservation easement.
Voluntary Conservation
Evan and Kim Ela are among the farm’s owners. Their vision when they chose to protect the land under easement was to preserve an agricultural economy that has served the community and the state of Colorado for more than 100 years. While the terms of the easement protect the land from being subdivided and ensure that at least 15 acres always stay as orchards, they also protect the water needed to irrigate those orchards, dedicating it for that purpose.
Landowner Incentive: The State Tax Credit
In exchange for donating the conservation easement, the Elas and the other investing families received Colorado state tax credits. The credits allowed them to make infrastructure improvements and plant more trees - with later improvements such as a composting toilet, fence removal and updated irrigation to follow.
Social Responsibility: Worker Equity
Gwen has built a program that creates equity for a critical worker base the farm relies on to succeed. As a participant in the Fair Food Program, Rancho Durazno generates benefits for workers and buyers as well as her operation. The workers receive increased pay, legal protections and a 24-hour hotline - in addition to the benefit of working for an employer who cares about agricultural worker welfare.
Photo credit: Rancho Durazno
Produced in partnership:
