ARE LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THE ANSWER IN ST. TAMMANY?

Five Land Conservation Groups Will Participate in Panel Discussion on Wednesday, August 1 — Public Invited!

Webster’s Dictionary defines conservation as a careful preservation and protection of something and planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect. The citizens of St. Tammany have participated in the transformation of the parish: from rural to suburban to an almost-urban place to live and work in the past few decades.  We are constantly being told by our elected officials that only about a third of St. Tammany Parish has been developed. Whenever new infrastructure is anticipated, development precedes it. All one has to do is observe the clear-cutting near the I-12 and Highway 1088 overpass to see our rush to develop areas that have not been easily accessible in the past. Does it matter that 97% of one parcel was wetlands? Does it matter that the US Army Corp of Engineers doesn’t see the need to hold a public meeting in response to another proposed development in wetlands on the south side of I-12 and Highway 1088?

YES, IT MATTERS! Especially to the non-profit groups that are participating in a panel discussion on Wednesday, August 1 at 6:00 p.m. in the Parish Council Chambers at the Parish Administrative Complex on Koop Drive in Mandeville. The League of Women Voters of St. Tammany and Tammany Together, Inc. are co-sponsoring a discussion with leading conservation groups about the programs and tax incentives that are available for landowners. There are enormous pressures on landowners to cash in; many stand to make millions of dollars when they sell their forested or pasture land to developers. What programs are there to help landowners make a different decision regarding their property? How can they provide for their families and still participate in conservation programs? What is the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and what does it have to do with land conservation?

The public is invited to a panel discussion to hear what representatives from five land conservation groups have to say on this topic. All of the groups have ongoing programs in St. Tammany and southeastern Louisiana. The groups and participants are as follows:

Jill Mastrototaro, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation: sprawl and poorly planned developments have a direct impact on water quality and increased flooding

Dr. Jay Addison, Land Trust for Southeast Louisiana: focuses on smaller land acquisition projects specifically in the Florida Parishes

Ray Herndon, The Conservation Fund: helped created the Big Branch and Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuges and the Manchac Wildlife Management Area

Nelwyn McInnis, The Nature Conservancy: manages over 30,000 acres of land in the Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve, Lake Ramsay Preserve, Talisheek Reserve, White Kitchen Preserve, and the Charter Oak Baygall Preserve

Larry Schmidt, Trust for Public Land: recently acquired 400 acres of Tchefuncte Marsh wetlands and transferred land to the City of Mandeville; Camp Salmen in Slidell; currently developing a “Greenprint” for St. Tammany that will become our master open space plan

During the two-hour program, panelists will discuss the many programs that are available for landowners in St. Tammany including conservation easements, land donation, bargain sale of land, Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs) programs, deed restrictions, greenways and trails, and the role of land use planning and zoning restrictions.  The Trust for Public Land has recently completed a study titled ‘The Economic Benefits of Land Conservation’ showing that permanently protected land increases the value of nearby properties by 10-20%. (The report may be downloaded at their web site: www.tpl.org.)

The citizens of St. Tammany have not only an opportunity, but a responsibility, to educate ourselves about land conservation and take actions that will ensure our quality of life for generations to come. In the words of John F. Kennedy: It is our task in our time and in our generation, to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours.

For more information on this program and other League and Tammany Together activities, please visit our web sites at www.lwvst.info and www.TammanyTogether.org.