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Written by Minnie V. MuirJuly 6, 2022

The property gold rush is making it harder for conservation groups to acquire land

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Conservationists say the red-hot serious estate market place that started off heating up at the onset of the pandemic has created it harder to protect land in Maine.

Numerous land trusts in Maine work less than stringent requirements crafted by the Land Believe in Alliance, a countrywide firm that offers accreditation for land conservation teams across the state. The expectations dictate that trusts get impartial appraisals for houses and only pay back for the land’s precise worth.

The regulations be certain prudent expending of donor’s money and stop trusts from coming into bidding wars on homes.

But in the existing sector, where by houses can go for a great deal increased than their asking cost, land trusts can be left in the dust, explained Chrissy Allen, the advancement director for the Blue Hill Heritage Trust.

The rely on is currently closing in on its $1.2 million fundraising target to acquire Wallamatogus Mountain, a scenic summit in Penobscot. But hopes of having a different parcel that would have related the land to yet another nearby conservation property ended up dashed when the operator needed to provide for extra than the appraised benefit.

“It can make the competition much steeper for us,” she reported.

The amount of time it can get for trusts to protected homes also puts them at a drawback in the latest market place. Trusts normally need to get interior approval to go following properties, get an appraisal and then fundraise for the buys, a process that can occasionally take decades.

The fundraising energy for the Wallamatogus parcel that the Blue Hill have faith in is shopping for is predicted to wrap up soon, pretty much a year right after it started off. That timeline is deemed lighting swift for the area.

The uphill climb that land trusts experience is not new, but the rapid-paced, rising industry that has taken keep in Maine has pushed it to the extreme, reported Ciona Ulbrich, a senior task supervisor for Maine Coast Heritage Belief.

“We simply cannot shell out what the industry is usually driving,” she reported. “We shed out on some essential alternatives.”

Maine Coast Heritage Rely on aided Penobscot secure 192 acres of undeveloped woods in March, but — like the Blue Hill land rely on — skipped an option to invest in a further tiny adjacent parcel that would have connected to other conservation lands due to the fact it bought sight unseen in just a couple times.

But, in a twist of luck, the new operator resolved it wasn’t a very good suit and offered it to the town, which shut on the house before this month.

Most predicaments really do not have a joyful ending like that, and, until a land proprietor wishes to place their residence into conservation, it can be challenging to influence house owners to promote their assets for a lot less in a procedure that will get a ton for a longer time.

A lack of appraisers who do conservation valuations in Maine has also contributed to keeping matters up, creating the approach even more time.

“It’s starting to be a significant disaster in the condition of Maine,” Allen said. “It slows items down and it does make it challenging to preserve land.”

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The property gold rush is making it harder for conservation groups to acquire land

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The property gold rush is making it harder for conservation groups to acquire land

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