Conservation Easements for Forest Landowners and their Advisers Zoom Meeting

Purpose/About the Course
The purpose of this course is to provide a working knowledge of conservation easements as a land-use tool and provide a status update on the timber market. It provides guidance on drafting conservation easement agreements to achieve landowner goals for their property. The Georgia Alabama Land Trust discusses various philosophies of land use protection and what conservation easements can offer landowners. This course offers a comprehensive overview of legal, appraisal, base line information, tax incentives, and other inputs needed for a successful conservation easement agreement.

This online course has been redesigned to be as flexible as possible. The major change is that five sessions will be pre-recorded and available for viewing prior to the start of the course on September 15, 2020. These five sessions will not be shown during the course itself. However, instructors of these pre-recorded sessions will be available for questions during the live Zoom portion of the course. Live interaction with the instructors is part of the course learning design. Attendance of the live course will be tracked. There will be a short quiz of three questions for each prerecorded session.

The objective is to provide guidance for attendees in reaching a sustainable protection agreement for "working forest" land. A framework is offered for analyzing protection goals for reaching a successful agreement in the context of legal constraints and tax incentives.

You will learn

• How easements affect land use

• The advantages/disadvantages of easements on a working forest

• Which agencies and organizations can accept easements

• Tax aspects of easements

• How to plan for an easement

Who Will Benefit?
Landowners with an interest in maintaining a working forest while protecting it from development or other exploitation should attend.  Foresters, accountants, attorneys, appraisers, and wildlife resource managers who work with landowners will benefit.

Cancellations
Notice must be received by 5:00 p.m. November 19, 2020 to receive a refund. Contact Ingvar Elle at 706-583-0566.

Instructors
Dr. Harry L. Haney, Jr.
Garland Gray Emeritus Professor of Forestry, Virginia Tech
Adjunct Professor, Warnell School of Forestry, University of Georgia
Dr. Haney earned his Ph.D. in Forestry Economics from Yale University. He and is a consulting forester and has over 50 years of experience in managing timberland with special interest in income, estate and gift tax issues impacting management decisions. He has written landowner guides on federal income tax, estate planning, economics, and conservation easements. He manages a tree farm with his wife, Jackie and his daughter, J. Lee, Esq.

Katherine Eddins
Executive Director
Georgia-Alabama Land Trust, Inc.
Katherine Eddins has served as executive director of the Georgia-Alabama Land Trust for more than eighteen years.  Katherine graduated from the University of Alabama, School of Law with a Juris Doctorate, and subsequently received a master's degree in forestry from Auburn University, graduating summa cum laude. She has been published in the Journal of Forestry and has practiced law and natural resource management. Katherine is the chairman of the advisory committee for Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, member of the Leadership Council for the Land Trust Alliance, co-chair of the Choccolocco Creek Watershed Alliance, board member for the Longleaf Alliance, and secretary of the board of the Holy Comforter Episcopal Day School.

Dr. Yanshu Li
Forest Economics & Taxation Outreach Specialist  
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia
Dr. Li focuses on federal and state forest taxation, economic issues related to forest investment and management, forest products market analysis and the economic benefits of forests.  Among her several degrees are an M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in Forest Economics from Auburn University.

Stephanie Surles
Partner, CPA
Howard, Moore & McDuffie, Macon GA
Stephanie is a graduate of Georgia College and State University and has worked in public accounting since 1986. She became a shareholder in Howard, Moore & McDuffie, P.C. in 1996. Stephanie’s practice focuses on accounting, planning and income tax preparation for individuals, farmers, construction contractors, real estate development entities and small businesses. Stephanie has developed a niche in conservation easements for farmers and land owners. She has established valuable relationships with qualified appraisers, attorneys, and management of land trusts within Georgia. She has also developed expertise in issues related to estate taxes; helping individuals save estate taxes with appropriate planning and assisting executors with estate administration.

Taylor Brown
Grants Unit Supervisor
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Taylor Brown is the Grants Unit Supervisor for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources where she oversees the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program, Recreational Trails Program and Land and Water Conservation Fund. During Taylor's six years with the department, she has served as the Legislative and Public Affairs Assistant in the Commissioner's Office and the Assistant Manager of Communications at the Wildlife Resources Division. Taylor is a graduate of The University of Georgia, Terry College of Business with a degree in finance.

George Petkovich, MAI, CCIM
Principal
Pritchett, Ball & Wise, Inc.
George joined the commercial real property appraisal and consultation firm of Pritchett, Ball & Wise, Inc. in 1996. Mr. Petkovich earned the Master of Science in Real Estate (MSRE) Degree from Georgia State University in 1994 and became a principal in the firm in 2001.  Mr. Petkovich earned his MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute in 2004 and the CCIM designation in 2006. Mr. Petkovich has been active in the Atlanta Area Chapter of the Appraisal Institute, serving in multiple roles most recently including Regional Representative, Treasurer and Secretary.  George is experienced performing appraisals of forested land tracts throughout the state of Georgia and surrounding states including Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.  He has performed a multitude of conservation easement related real estate appraisals for landowners, government agencies and land trusts.

Chad Hancock
Regional Manager
F&W Forestry Services in Albany, Georgia
He has worked as a consulting forester and timberland appraiser for over 20 years.  He received an Associates of Applied Science in Forestry from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance from Valdosta State University.  He is a Registered Forester, Certified General Appraiser, and Real Estate Salesperson in Georgia.  His career includes working with Non-Industrial Private Landowners, Timberland Management Organizations, Governmental Agencies and Industry on various forest management projects.  He has managed property in the lower coastal plain, upper coastal plain and piedmont regions of Georgia and Florida.  F&W Forestry Services, Inc. is an international forestry consulting firm which was founded in 1962 headquartered in Albany, Georgia.

Frank Smith
Deputy Executive Director
State Properties Commission
As deputy executive director, Smith oversees the state’s real estate assets and develops the long-term strategies for a healthy real estate portfolio. Smith works with all agencies as well as the General Assembly in determining state acquisitions and dispositions. The deputy executive director also provides real estate guidance to the Georgia Land Conservation Council and the Sapelo Island Authority and serves as the SPC liaison to the Commission for Condemnation of Public Property, the Capital Asset Management Advisory Council, the Multi-Year Leasing Task Force and the Space Management Capital Asset Task Force.
Smith began his career with the state in 2000 as a Legislative Budget Analyst for the Georgia General Assembly and was responsible for developing spending policies and priorities for the State’s annual multi-billion dollar supplemental and general appropriations act. In 2004, Smith accepted a position at the Georgia Building Authority (GBA) as Tenant and Lease Director. In that capacity Smith was responsible for the allocation of over 4 million square feet on Capitol Hill.
Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Georgia and a master’s of business administration in real estate from Georgia State University.

Shana Jones
Planning And Environmental Services Unit Program Manager; Strategic Operations And Planning Assistance
Carl Vinson Institute of Government, UGA
Shana Jones joined the Institute of Government in 2014 as a faculty member in the Planning and Environmental Services unit. She assists communities with managing legal and policy issues related to land use, environmental quality, and coastal flooding. Prior to joining the Institute of Government, Shana was the director of the Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic at William & Mary Law School. Her previous experience includes managing a nonprofit policy group, clerking at the federal and state levels, and working as a program manager at a Texas state agency and for the Texas Governor's Office.

J. Scott Pippin
Public Service Associate: Strategic Operations And Planning Assistance
Carl Vinson Institute of Government, UGA
Scott is an attorney and community planner who joined the Institute of Government's Planning and Environmental Services unit in 2014. He works on issues concerning environmental and natural resource planning, climate resilience, nature-based and green infrastructure practices, land use, community planning and economic development, and updating and revising city and county land use ordinances. In addition to planning and technical assistance,  Scott works directly with communities to develop funding and implement projects that provide social, economic, and environmental benefits. He also delivers training courses on a wide variety of subjects, such as storm water management, planning and zoning practices, community sustainability, and preparing for large-scale solar installations. Prior to joining the Institute of Government, he worked as a local government attorney and an environmental consultant.

Ronald Levitt
Sirote and Permutt
Ronald's practice focuses on two main areas. First, he handles federal and state controversy matters, including planning and defending conservation easements. Second, his practice focuses on business and tax planning, particularly for closely held and family-owned businesses. Specifically, he counsels clients in business planning, succession planning, estate planning, charitable deduction planning, entity formation, represents S corporations, limited liability companies, and other flow-through entities, mergers and acquisitions, purchases and sales of business, and health care law by representing physician practices.

Mike Heneghan
Stewardship Director
Georgia Alabama Land Trust
Mike joined the Georgia-Alabama Land Trust in 2017 as a Regional Stewardship Manager in Northwest Georgia and is currently serving as the organization's Director of Stewardship. He has a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Northern Arizona University and a Master of Science in Natural Resource Management from Auburn University, from which his research on public attitudes toward growing black bear populations in Alabama has been published in the journals Human Dimensions of Wildlife and Society & Natural Resources. Before joining the land Trust Mike worked as a Wildlife Ecologist for Virginia Tech at a field research station in Botswana, and he has previously worked for the U.S. Forest Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Mike's duties at the land Trust include overseeing issues relating to reserved rights requests, easement violation resolution, baseline documentation for new projects and GIS database management. He also serves on the Thrive 2055 Regional Partnership Working Farmlands and Forests Committee.

J. Alex Robertson
Staff Attorney
Colgate University, graduating with a degree in Geology, before obtaining his law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. Prior to joining the Land Trust, Alex served as the staff attorney for Judge David P. Darden of the State Court of Cobb County, Georgia. Alex is licensed to practice law in both Georgia and Alabama.  In his free time Alex enjoys turkey hunting, playing soccer, and spending time with his wife Sarah, daughter Maggie and their dog J.D.

Agenda

View the agenda for this course

Continuing Education Credits

Course Instructor(s)

Dr. Harry Haney

hhaney@vt.edu

Katherine Eddins

katherine@galandtrust.org