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What Exactly Are We Conserving? A Deeper Look at Green

Posted on 26. Mar, 2010 by Dan Wilhelm in Green Trends

For lots of reasons, more and more people are becoming interested in the environment – some from an altruistic motivation, others from a purely economical or utilitarian perspective. However, the reality is that we, the people the-world-over, have wholly abused our local ecologies (the places we live) to such a devastating degree that, regardless of our motivations, many of us have begun to recognize that we must start paying attention, or else find that we will have misused and abused the land to such an extent that it no longer sustains life – our life! Now, having begun to recognize this, many people are in agreement that our behavior simply must change. And, it seems to me that we are generally prepared to accept the fact that this revelation may entail an acceptance of the personal sacrifice of convenience.

It should not be surprising then, that there is increasing buzz within the real estate community about conservation easements—a method devised to protect designated land by assigning certain lasting protective covenants. We should feel gratified that society has discovered a tool to capture what is left of natural lands and to preserve them in perpetuity, at least for as long as the existing government and its laws survive. If we are genuinely concerned, we should ask which land is worthy of preservation.  Should just any parcel of land earn this protection?  How do we know which parcels are dear and which parcels are of questionable value? Upon what logic can we base such decisions?

There is a widely spread myth that any natural area (someplace with trees on it), and little or no man-made “improvements,” is valuable and worthy of preservation. And, it may be so by some dubious standard, but the problem is determining which of several parcels is genuinely more valuable than another—if a choice must be made. This is a hard question, but it is one that has been answered by a pair of notable 20th century American botanists, Swink and Wilhelm, with their Floristic Quality Index:

“… a tract of land occupied prevailing by weeds or non-conservative native species cannot be viewed as natural area and is quite replaceable. Our interest in natural area identification and floristic quality assessment focuses on the extent and promotion to which constellations of conservative species are present.”1

To really understand this quote, we must first understand what these fellows consider a weed, and what defines a conservative plant. A weed is a plant not native to the ecosystem, and a conservative one is one that belongs there—one that is truly endemic to that place. With this in mind, trained technicians can rate one parcel against another by a common and undisputable standard. The Floristic Quality Index establishes this mechanism, and has been adapted to address regional ecosystems within many states.

The point that must be made here is that conservation easements are a worthy instrument of environmental stewardship, but we should not delude ourselves into thinking that we have done some environmental good by preserving a place overridden with weeds. Unfortunately, laymen would hardly recognize an invasive weed from an endemic plant. For example, we are generally misled into believing that planting a tree—virtually any species of tree, virtually any place—is a good idea. If we are really concerned about improving the ecology of the place, we will either take the time to learn the difference for ourselves, or consult with someone that knows. Planting the wrong kind of tree in the wrong environment does nothing to improve the remnant ecosystem. In fact, it most assuredly contributes to its ecological failing, probably even more so than if the land had just been left alone to recover on its own—which it probably will not.

Conservation easements give landowners the power of law to protect those few remaining parcels of land with redeeming ecological value. This is significant because what many appear not to understand is that the vast acreage of agricultural land, such as the endless crop fields in the heartland, and the overgrazed cattle farms in the south, east, and west, represents land which has been virtually destroyed.  We could say the same for 99 percent of the ecologically divested land that hosts our residential subdivision and burgeoning urban areas. These places lack any hope of ecological redemption. However, if a landowner has a parcel on which the soil has not yet been cultivated, it may retain sufficient genetic memory to be restored, with proper human stewardship. This is the sort of judgment that can be made by applying the Floristic Quality Index. It would be a worthy undertaking to preserve and renew such a place, even if only for the sake of posterity. Indeed, if only for the sake of posterity! This should be motivation enough.

So what is the connection between conservation easements and green landlording? If you own an investment property that either encompasses such an easement or sits nearby or adjacent to one—one that is legitimately ecologically significant—then the property may hold special value indeed. If so, this fact should be promoted in the marketing and pricing strategies. The property is surely unique, and this feature should be acknowledged. You can be certain that the marketplace will respond to it. Just keep in mind that it also becomes incumbent upon the landlord to properly educate the tenant about how to properly respect the natural area so that it is not abused or misused and remains a “natural area.” Clearly, both intrinsic and market value is there. We should not only take advantage of these special places, but seek to aid in the rehabilitation of potential parcels.  Among the consciously aware, this inherent duty of mankind will resonate to the spiritual core.

So the first thing you might want to do is learn about your local community. Discover if there are conservation easements in your area. You may even own a piece of property on the fringes of such places already, and just not be aware of it. These easements may be publicly owned or held in trust by private non-profits. Search the Internet for conservation easements in your state. You may be surprised at the number of them. If you are a landlord with a large parcel of land that may have ecologically redeemable value and are willing to preserve some of it, check out the application process for your state. There are significant tax incentives for doing this, but there may be even bigger economic incentives with proper landscape development planning. You do not have to do this alone. There are private consulting firms out there that can help with the technical points. One such firm is the Chicago-based Conservation Design Forum. If you would like to read more about self-sustainable landscaping and natural areas, visit their website at www.cdfinc.com. There is much work to do.

Dan Wilhelm, RMP® ABR® ABRM® CRB EcoBroker® is the founder and managing broker for 3 Options Realty, a full service real estate company in Roswell, Georgia. He is a certified EcoBroker®, and is passionately interested in the environment. He is also a licensed Georgia real estate instructor.

Sources: Plants of the Chicago Region, 4th Edition, Floyd Swink & Gerould Wilhelm, the Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois, 1994, P12

Copyright © February 2010 NARPM®. Reprinted from the February 2010 issue of the NARPM® Residential Resource news magazine. For additional information about the National Association of Residential Property Managers, visit www.narpm.org.

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Tags: Conservation, EcoBroker, environment, Landlord, Law, NARPM, Real Estate