Land, Trusts & Tenancyan overview on the law surrounding land, trusts and tenancies

On 5th October 2006, The Land Trust For Tennessee (LTTN) announced, “Loveless to Leiper’s,” a legacy project of the not-for-profit organization that aims to protect the historic and culturally rich landscape adjacent to the Natchez Trace Parkway National Park.

“Loveless to Leiper’s: The Natchez Trace Corridor Initiative” identifies loosely the boundaries of the target area – beginning at the famous Loveless Motel and Cafe near the northern terminus of the national park to the Tennessee Valley Divide, just south of Leiper’s Fork, a registered National Historic District in Williamson County.

The Natchez Trace Corridor encompasses some 10,000 acres in the westernmost section of Davidson County and southwest Williamson County. The area includes the original Natchez Trace footpath as well as 26 buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The original Natchez Trace was a 500-mile wilderness trail, stretching from Natchez, Miss., to Nashville, Tenn. In the 1700s, the Middle Tennessee portion of the trail was dubbed “Chickasaw Trail” by the residents of Fort Nashborough because it went through the Chickasaw Nation territory.

As the trail ventured southwest through what is now Alabama and Mississippi, the British maps of the late 1700s called it the “Path to the Choctaw Nation,” signifying the Choctaws control over that portion of the pathway.

In the early 1800s, the “Trace” was used as a supply road and by boatmen who navigated from the uppers of the Ohio River down to New Orleans where they sold their flatboats and goods, then made their way home on foot or horseback. A perilous journey through Indian Territory and riddled with bandits, the trail later earned the nickname “Devil’s Backbone.”

“Today, the Natchez Trace Corridor is a working landscape of farms, historic lands and homes and natural water and wildlife resources. Our goal is to protect this special and irreplaceable region for future generations,” said Jean C. Nelson, president and executive director of the Land Trust for Tennessee.

The non-profit Land Trust was founded in 1999 by current Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen and works with willing landowners to preserve the scenic and natural values of their land.

Currently, the Land Trust has some 2,000 acres of protected land within the “Loveless to Leiper’s” project boundaries. As important, said Nelson, is to focus on protecting the scenic land immediately adjacent to the Natchez Trace Parkway. The state’s laws for scenic highways only restrict building heights to 35 feet within 1000 ft of the Parkway’s boundaries, leaving many of the scenic views vulnerable to development.

“Most people who travel the Parkway likely believe the adjacent land is protected by the National Park Service, but it isn’t. To protect those views and the land for future generations, it is imperative that we all focus now on this area before development begins to creep in,” Nelson said.

LTTN officials have met with the superintendent’s office of the Natchez Trace Parkway, based in Tupelo, Miss., to discuss the project. LTTN has also held briefings with Williamson County officials and nonprofit organizations, including the Franklin/Williamson County Chamber of Commerce, the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County, the Harpeth River Watershed Association and the Williamson County Planning Commission.

“The ‘Loveless to Leiper’s’ project needs to be a public-private partnership to be successful. We are continuing to engage land owners in conversation about our vision, and many in the business community and county government are willing to assist us to make this a success,” Nelson said.

Much of the project scope will include landowner education, donated conservation easements, property re-sales to conservation buyers, and limited development with open-space conservation where appropriate.

The donated conservation easement serves as the Land Trust’s primary tool for conserving land. A conservation easement allows a willing landowner to achieve three important goals: keep ownership of the land, conserve the important assets of the land through customized restrictions on future development and obtain certain tax advantages.

“For years, there has been a series of tax incentives for conservation easements. Just recently, Congress voted to and the President signed into law a new set of tax incentives that are significantly enhanced. These are, however, short-lived federal tax incentives, so we believe there has never been a better time for a landowner to join us in this conservation effort,” Nelson said.

The new tax rules, in effect only through the remainder of 2006 and until Dec. 31, 2007, raises the maximum deduction a donor can take for donating a conservation easement from 30 percent of their adjusted gross income (AGI) in any year to 50 percent, and allows qualifying farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100 percent of their AGI. The regulations also extend the carry-forward period for a donor to take tax deductions for a voluntary conservation agreement from 5 to 15 years.