Our region is home to a variety of beautiful landscapes - from rolling farmland to quiet woodlands, and wetlands teeming with life.  Indeed, our many natural and cultural lands are a critical part of the area’s unique character and quality of life.  Sadly, that distinctiveness is disappearing as suburban sprawl transforms these landscapes into housing developments and shopping centers.  Our region’s natural and historic legacy is at risk and landowners like you often find themselves at the center of the struggle to protect our communities’ land and future.

Deciding what to do with your land is rarely as straightforward as choosing between conservation and development.  Financial and family pressures can cause a landowner to sell to a developer, even when that land is an important part of the family’s legacy or a critical part of the community’s landscape.

There are alternatives.  With careful consideration of your needs and the various conservation options available, it is possible to preserve your land forever and satisfy your financial and family goals.

The West Vincent Land Trust, Inc. was formed to help landowners like you find beneficial ways to protect your land.  Your interests and needs are vital to a solution that will work best for your specific situation.  There are creative conservation strategies using outright donations, conservation easements, limited conservation-minded development plans or a combination of several conservation techniques.  In some special cases, leveraged public and private funding can help to both meet your financial needs and save a critical piece of open space.

We currently hold conservation easements on over 200 acres in West Vincent Township.  We were gifted with a ten acre parcel in the heart of Birchrunville, originally purchased by the Dietrich Foundation. In addition, we were given parcels in Upper Uwchlan and East Vincent Township to hold in perpetuity as open space.

We welcome the opportunity to talk to you further about your land and your needs.  For more information, please contact the West Vincent Land Trust, Inc. at 610-827-7547, Post Office Box 235, Birchrunville, Pennsylvania  19421.

There are many ways to conserve your land.  Below is a brief summary of some of the most commonly used conservation techniques. Each has the potential to protect all or part of your land while meeting your financial and family goals.

Of course, it is important to consult your financial and legal advisors before you enter into any kind of conservation transaction.  You will want to pay particular attention to tax implications.  Most conservation projects will impact one or more of the three primary types of taxes – income, estate and property.

• Outright Donation of Land and Endowment
  This is the most straightforward way to protect your land and ensure that it is properly managed in the long-term. Full title and ownership are transferred to a nonprofit conservation organization or qualified government agency. This generally offers the maximum potential tax benefit and requires an endowment for on-going care of the property.
• Donation with Life Estate
  This is similar to outright donation but allows you to retain the right to live on the property for the rest of your life.  Your tax deduction will be less than in an outright donation.
• Bequest
  This involved donating your land through your will or living trust and allows you to maintain complete control of the land while you are alive. You may leave a life estate for your family, but you do not receive an income tax deduction for donation. This may, however, significantly reduce estate taxes.
• Conservation Easement
  This method places permanent restrictions on the development of your land while you retain ownership.  It binds all present and future owners of the land to such restrictions. You may receive an income tax deduction in return for reducing the market value of the land, and it may also reduce estate taxes.
• Bargain Sale
  This technique allows you to protect your land by selling it to a conservation group for less than market value. The difference between the bargain sale price and the fair market value is considered a charitable donation; tax benefits may include deduction for donation and decreased capital gains tax liabilities.
• Limited Development and Conservation Subdivision
  This alternative to traditional development allows a portion of the land to remain as open space.  It balances the need for higher financial gain with a desire to preserve land. If done carefully, it can ensure that the most critical ecological features of your land are preserved.
• Donation as an Asset Property
  You can contribute your land or home and allow the organization to sell it and use the funds to support conservation.  The land is protected with an easement before it is resold. You may receive income tax deductions for this contribution. This technique is a good alternative for smaller parcels.

If you are interested in conserving your land, answering the following questions should help you develop the best possible plan for meeting your needs:

• What are your long-term goals for your property?
• What would you like it to look like in fifty years?
• What is your level of commitment to conservation?
• Do you want or need to retain ownership?
• Do you or a family member want to live on the property?
• What will happen to the land when you die?
• Will your heirs be able to keep it?
• Will your wishes for the land be fulfilled?
• What are your financial goals and obligations?

Talk to family members about their hopes for the land.  Talk to your legal and financial advisors about your specific situation.  Then, contact the West Vincent Land Trust, Inc. 

If you would like to find out more about how West Vincent Land Trust can help, or for more general information, please contact us at 610-827-7547.

We would be delighted to provide you with more detailed information about specific land conservation techniques. 

We recommend the book Preserving Family Lands by attorney Stephen J. Small (1998, Landowner Planning Center, Boston MA, 617-357-1644). 

You can also find information on the Internet by clicking a logo below

We offer a free conservation easement to any qualified West Vincent Township landowner.  This offer includes the easement document which is tailored to your particular land and conservation goal;, a baseline study while establishes the condition of the land – its flora and fauna and man-made improvements – at the time of the easement; a yield study which establishes the development potential of the land for use in calculating pre- and post-easement values; and in some cases, we provide financial assistance for appraisal services.  A small easement monitoring donation is the landowner's only financial obligation for this offer.  Give us a call to see if you qualify.   610-827-7547

We meet quarterly on the first Tuesday of March, June, September, and December.  We use West Vincent Township’s large meeting room and begin promptly at 5PM; meetings usually adjourn by 6:30 PM.