~Cheryl Goodloe - Carrizo Valley Ranch; Kevin Shea - Tax Credit Transfer, LLC.; Lynne Sherrod - Land Trust Alliance; Moderator - Ernie Atencio - Taos Land Trust

Excerpt from Program:
"Do You Want to Leave a Legacy? Now You Can Get Paid for Permanently Conserving Your Land.

"Starting in 2008, New Mexico landowners at any income level can qualify for a state income tax credit of up to $250,000 by permanently protecting their land with a 'conservation easement.' If they cannot use the credit themselves they can sell it to someone else who can use it for 80 to 83 percent of its face value. That means you can get a cash payment of up to about $200,000 simply for promising never to develop your land. Now families can remain on the land because they will have the wherewithal to pay off the mortgage or make improvements on their property.

"Sid Goodloe says, 'I do not want my grandchildren to drive by a new subdivision and say to their friends, `That used to be my Granddad's Ranch.'' The old adage of leaving the land in better shape than we found it has a hollow ring to it if our property is paved over after we're gone. We hear a great deal about holistic management and sustainability nowadays, but nothing is truly holistic or sustainable unless we provide a way to continue that approach longer than one generation. Sid decided, rather than let the IRS dictate the future of his property through the use of an unfair inheritance tax, he would provide his children and heirs an opportunity to continue the most rewarding occupation he knows by creating a conservation easement. He will explain the process he went through to make sure his property is permanently protected from development and is more likely to stay in the family and continue to be a working ranch.

"Lynne Sherrod has been helping landowners create ranch-friendly conservation easements in Colorado for many years and will talk about how transferable income tax credits in that state have been a tremendous benefit for both the land and landowners, and sometimes, helped ranchers stay in business.

"Kevin Shea has been helping transfer tax credits in Colorado for several years and will discuss specifics of the new legislation in New Mexico and the nuts and bolts of transferring tax credits. He will include some cautionary tales about doing it right and some examples of how the finances work out with a combination of federal and state tax benefits. It's ultimately about the land, traditional livelihoods, and producing food, and this is a new tool that can make a real difference by providing a fair cash payment for the public service of protecting land."