Why It Matters: In states like North Carolina where land is primarily privately owned and the population is increasing rapidly, proactive efforts such as offering financial incentives to private landowners to conserve property are essential to ensuring the future success of wildlife management efforts. These incentives, such as offering state income tax credits to landowners who donate property for conservation purposes, benefit fish and wildlife while also maintaining critical hunting and angling access.
Highlights:
- Last year, North Carolina Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus) Member Representative Stephen Ross, along with former Caucus Co-Chair Representative John Bell, current Caucus Co-Chair Representative Michael Wray, and Caucus Member Representative Jimmy Dixon, introduced legislation to support land conservation efforts in the state.
- Originally written as a standalone bill, the provisions from House Bill 290, the Protect NC’s Military and Working Lands Act, were included in Senate Bill 355, the North Carolina Farm Act of 2024 (Farm Act). Section 15 of the Farm Act offers state income tax credits to landowners who donate interests in real property for conservation purposes.
- On May 23, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) submitted testimony in support of Section 15 to the House Committee on Agriculture.
- The Farm Act was signed into law by Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus Member Governor Roy Cooper on July 3.
As farms and forestlands are purchased, they are often subdivided and developed which leads to the loss of hunting and fishing access and fragmentation of fish and wildlife habitat. Incentives like state level tax credits for conservation easements, reduced fee title, and/or donated land for conservation purposes are all tools that states can use to conserve fish and wildlife habitat.
Section 15 in the Farm Act allows for an up to 25 percent state tax credit of the fair market value of the donated property of interest for the following purposes: farmland preservation, fish and wildlife conservation, floodplain protection, historic landscape conservation, public trail access, and buffers for military installations. The tax credit provision is capped at $5 million per year and will be effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, for donations made on or after January 1, 2025, and expires for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, for donations made on or after January 1, 2027.
With the passage of the Farm Act, private landowners in the Tar Heel State will be able to receive tax credits for their conservation efforts for the first time in 11 years. Sunsetting in 2013, a previous version of this state income tax program led to a 20 percent increase in overall land donations and is credited with protecting 250,000 acres in North Carolina.
CSF thanks the North Carolina Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus and our partners, such as The Nature Conservancy in North Carolina, for their support to conserve North Carolina’s hunting and fishing traditions for future generations.
