Some environmental organizations have embraced Fink’s vision by engaging in
deals that enable them to continue to make money off the property they purchase,
and then use that money for land acquisition and other conservation activities.
In 2004, the Conservation Fund purchased 24,000 acres of working forest in
Northern California’s Mendocino County from Hawthorne Timber for $18 million,
with plans to log some trees there to garner cash for ecological
restoration."I think the next generation [of environmental philanthropy] will involve donors taking part of their municipal bond portfolio or their hedge fund and figuring out how to invest it in a bond to preserve open space." |
Organizations also are working with for-profit landowners to
achieve their goals. In March, International Paper, one of the world’s largest
private landowners, the Nature Conservancy and the Conservation Fund partnered
on a deal that will allow the two nonprofit groups to purchase 218,000 acres of
forestland across 10 states in the South. Under terms of the agreement,
International Paper received $300 million and the right to continue to harvest
sustainably on much of the land. Some environmentally sensitive areas will be
placed off-limits to loggers.The Nature Conservancy also offers a conservation buyer
program, in which the Conservancy identifies and purchases property in
ecologically important areas, and then resells it to individuals who are willing
to either buy it with a conservation easement in place or create an easement on
the property. Philanthropists can contribute to the Conservation Buyer Fund or
they themselves can become a conservation buyer and potentially realize tax
benefits for donating their conservation easement. The buyer program is an
example, supporters say, of how land conservation groups have been able to meet
the needs of their donors and still make smart business decisions. CONSERVATION GROUPS
Nature Conservancy 703.841.5300, nature.org
Conservation Fund 703.525.6300, conservationfund.org
Trust for Public Land 415.495.4014, tpl.org
American Farmland Trust
202.331.7300, farmland.org |
Conservation groups are also learning that they must be more
receptive to philanthropists’ input in order to attract their donations. Fink
has earmarked some of his contributions to the Trust for Public Land and the
Nature Conservancy to help fund internships designed to encourage high school
and college students from diverse backgrounds to explore careers in
conservation. Fink holds a degree in environmental resource management and spent
time as a National Park Service volunteer with the Student Conservation
Association; he calls the experience life changing. He envisions his gifts
inspiring future students to consider a career in environmental
preservation.For Kauka, preserving wild land was also the fulfillment of a
lifelong love of the natural world, honed on childhood hikes in Germany and
Austria. "When we bought River Creek Plantation, we were enormously impressed by
its unique flora and fauna capacity," Kauka says. "If the land has environmental
value and uniqueness, you owe it to the land to preserve it for future
generations." To learn more about local land trust organizations, contact the Land Trust Alliance, 202.638.4725, lta.org. Jill Duman is a freelance writer who is based in Davis,
Calif. Additional Information
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