1410 Grant St.,
Suite C209, Denver, CO 80203 303-271-1577
www.cclt.org
Copyright
© 2004 by the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts—All rights reserved.
Organizations may make copies of this guide for distribution to their board,
staff, and/or volunteers. Reprinting of the publication for other purposes
requires express written permission from the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts.
This publication is subject to refinement and revision.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts would like to acknowledge the
Colorado Conservation Trust (CCT) for their generous financial assistance for
this funding guide. Also, several key individuals helped contribute to the
document that deserve our thanks: Bettina Ring, former CCLT Executive Director,
had the vision to initiate the project; Caroline Torrington conducted initial
research; Abigail Aukema developed the majority of the document and her hard
work and persistence made the completion of the guide possible; Susan Clark
donated her time and energy to help get the guide established on the CCLT web
site; Peggy Chiu of the Trust for Public Land and Nancy Smith of the Nature
Conservancy helped identify many of the programs; and Matthew Lancaster of
Remarkable Earth Photography generously donated photographs for the cover.
Also, we appreciate all the time and energy spent by the individual program
contacts who helped review the data for their particular program. Finally,
thanks to you the reader for all your conservation pursuits. I wish you the
best of luck in all of your efforts and I hope you find this guide helpful.
Best
regards,
Kris
William Larson
Executive
Director
Colorado
Coalition of Land Trusts
Cover photographs provided by Matthew Lancaster/Remarkable Earth
Photography. www.remarkableearth.com
DOWNLOAD THE FUNDING GUIDE IN PDF
Appendix
in PDF
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
..................................................................................................................... 4
State Programs
A.
Colorado Conservation Easement Tax
Credit Program ..............................................
5-6
B. Colorado Conservation Trust ........................................................................................ 7-8
C. Colorado Division of Wildlife
1.
Cooperative Habitat Improvement Program
(CHIP) .............................................. 9
2.
Colorado Species Conservation
Partnership (CSCP) ............................................ 10-11
3.
Colorado Wetlands Program ................................................................................ 12-13
4.
Colorado Wildlife Conservation Grant
Program (CWCG) ..................................... 14-15
D. Colorado Heritage Planning
Grant Program ................................................................ 16
E. Colorado Historical Fund
Grant Program .................................................................... 17-18
F. Colorado Wildlife Heritage
Foundation (CWHF) ........................................................ 19-20
G. Conservation Trust Fund ............................................................................................... 21-22
H. Great Outdoors Colorado
1.
Legacy Initiative Program ...................................................................................... 23-24
2.
Open Space Program ........................................................................................... 25
3. Planning and Capacity
Building Program ................................................................ 26-27
Federal Programs
A.
Land and Water Conservation
Fund (LWCF) ............................................................. 28-29
B.
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
1. Bring Back the Natives Program
(BBN) ............................................................................
30-31
2. Five-Star Restoration Matching
Grants Programs ..............................................................
32-33
3. General Matching Grants Program
....................................................................................
34-35
4. NFWF/NRCS Matching Grants for
Conservation on Private Lands Program ..................... 36-37
5. Native Plant Conservation Initiative
...................................................................................
38-39
C.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
1. Conservation Partnership Initiative
(CPI) ...............................................................
40-41
2. Conservation Reserve Program
(CRP) ..................................................................
42-43
3. Conservation Security Program
(CSP) ..................................................................
44-46
4. Environmental Quality Incentives
Program (EQIP) .................................................
47-48
a. Conservation
Innovation Grants (CIG) .............................................................
49-50
5. Farm and Ranch Lands Protection
Program (FRPP) ..............................................
51-52
6. Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP)
.....................................................................
53-54
7. Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)
.......................................................................
55-56
8. Wildlife Habitat Incentives
Program (WHIP) .........................................................
57-58
D. United States Department
of Defense Legacy Resource Management Funds .........
59-60
E. United States Department of Transportation
1. National
Scenic Byways Program .....................................................................................
61-62
2. Recreational
Trails Program ..............................................................................................
63-64
3.
Transportation Enhancements Program ..............................................................................
65-66
F. United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)
1. Consolidated Funding Process
(CFP) ...................................................................
67-69
a. Wetlands
Program Development Grants ..........................................................
70-71
2. Nonpoint Source Implementation
Grants (319 Program) ........................................
72-73
G. United States Fish and Wildlife Service
1. Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation
Fund
a. Conservation
Grants .......................................................................................
74-75
b. Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP) Land Acquisition Grants ..............................
76-78
c. Habitat
Conservation Planning Assistance Grants .............................................
79-80
d. Recovery
Land Acquisition Grants ..................................................................
81-82
2. Landowner Incentive Program
(LIP) .....................................................................
83-84
3. North American Wetlands
Conservation Act Standard and Small Grants................ 85-86
4. Private Stewardship Grants
Program (PSGP)......................................................... 87-88
5. State Wildlife Grant Program
................................................................................ 89-90
6. Wildlife Restoration Program
................................................................................ 91-92
H. United States Forest Service
1. Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP)........................................................... 93-94
2. Forest Legacy Program ........................................................................................ 95-96
Appendix
INTRODUCTION
This guide was developed as a resource
on conservation funding options for Colorado’s land trusts, conservation agencies
and local government open space programs. When we first began work on this
guide, we naively thought that pulling together information on the various
state and federal programs would be a relatively easy task. We assumed that
there were already several complete guides or compendiums offered by the agencies
that we could reference. In the course of developing the guide, however, we
were surprised by how difficult it was to gather a relatively complete list
of potential funding sources, especially at the federal level. While many
agencies have several funding programs within them, they lack an overall coordinator
or clearinghouse for these programs. Moreover, many programs do not have specific
accessible information regarding the history of the program, what it funds
and what the application process is. This realization reinforced the importance
of developing such a guide and the need to make it as complete as possible.
This realization also confirmed
that no matter how much time we put into it, this guide would always contain
some gaps or incomplete information. Although each federal and state program
was thoroughly researched and reviewed before being included in the guide,
information for certain programs was difficult to come by. Therefore, we
encourage readers to use this guide as a point of departure only and to contact
specific program contacts directly for guidance on eligibility and application.
Finally, due to time and space, we did not review local funding options, such
as local government open space programs, or foundations that did not have an
exclusive conservation purpose.
We have included 46 program
descriptions in the guide: 13 state and 33 federal programs. These programs are
as diverse as the Conservation Trust Fund, unique in Colorado and funded by a
state Lottery, to a Department of Defense program that allows partners to work
with the military to help manage ecosystems around military installations. We
did not include programs that have no real application in Colorado; however, we
did include some programs that have had limited use in the state if we felt
that there could be more potential to utilize the program in the future. We
attempted to limit the funding sources to those that would have some potential
applicability for land trusts or local government open space programs.
In the course of researching each
program, hundreds of emails, phone calls and written correspondence were sent
to determine the program outline and the appropriate contact. In addition, we
sent the summary for each program to the contact for review, and all but a
handful of the programs listed here were thoroughly reviewed and edited by the
corresponding agency. Rather than simply providing the summary information, we
also developed several case studies to help demonstrate how certain programs have
been used in Colorado. We did not endeavor to do case studies for all 46
programs; instead, the Case Studies were selected to provide a cross section of
project type and to showcase a few interesting projects in which these funding
sources were actually used.
It is our hope that we will be able
to update the information in the future as time and resources permit. In the
meantime, do not hesitate to contact us with corrections, additions or comments
as we consider this guide a work in progress. Thank you for your interest in
conservation—we hope you find this guide of some assistance in your efforts.
BACK TO TOP
STATE
PROGRAMS
|
State
Programs
|
Colorado Conservation Easement Tax
Credit Program
|
|
Affiliated Agency
or Organization
|
Colorado Department of Revenue
|
|
Program Goals
|
A landowner may earn a tax credit against Colorado income
taxes for the donation of a conservation easement. This tax credit may be transferred and sold
to a third party Colorado taxpayer who will not only receive discounted tax
credits, but the action will support land conservation.
|
|
Program History
|
Approved by state lawmakers in 2000, the Colorado
Conservation Easement Tax Credit Program has achieved significant
results. In 2003 alone, organizations
assisting with the transfer or purchase of tax credits reported more than $16
million in transactions.
Colorado’s program is one of only ten nationwide,
including just three that allow credit sales, the other two states being
South Carolina and Virginia.
Regulations for the tax credit program were developed by the Colorado
Department of Revenue in early 2003 and may be found as regulation 39-22-522.
|
|
Eligibility
|
Conservation tax credits are available to Colorado residents,
“c” corporations, trusts, estates, and members of pass-through entities who
receive the credit from such entity, regardless of whether such members are
Colorado residents.
Regarding non-profits and their ability to donate
easements and earn credits, the Colorado Department of Revenue ruled that
non-profits are only eligible for credits if the non-profit had taxable
income during the year of donation, and the donation meets the conservation
purposes test and related requirements.
|
|
Annual Funds
Available
|
Credits are sold to willing buyers. The amount of credits available to be sold
and (and then purchased by a third party) are variable from year-to-year.
In 2004, a landowner could earn a tax credit valued at up
to $260,000 through the donation of a conservation easement valued at
$500,000 or more. This credit is
earned at the rate of 100% for the first $100,000 donated and 40% for amounts
in excess of $100,000. In addition,
credits may be carried forward for 20 years or transferred to other Colorado
taxpayers.
|
|
Comments
|
Program is applicable to Colorado
income taxes only.
Please note: There are a number of organizations who
provide tax credit brokerage services who might also be of assistance. One organization is the Conservation Resource
Center - 303-544-1044.
|
|
Contact
|
Richard Giardini
Colorado Department
of Revenue
1375 Sherman
Street, Room 203
Denver,
CO 80261
Tel: 303-866-3900
Email: rgiardini@spike.dor.state.co.us
|
|
Website Link
|
http://www.revenue.state.co.us/fyi/pdf/income39.pdf,
www.taxcreditexchange.com or www.taxcolorado.com
|
BACK TO TOP
|
State
Programs
|
Colorado Conservation Trust (CCT)
|
|
Affiliated Agency
or Organization
|
Colorado Conservation Trust (CCT)
|
|
Program Goals
|
To preserve
Colorado’s special places – agricultural lands, wildlife habitats and open
spaces – by fostering leadership, strategic initiatives, and increased
investments in conservation.
|
|
Program History
|
CCT was incorporated in November 2000 by a group of
conservation experts and community and business leaders with the goal of
providing leadership, funding and expertise to address land conservation on a
statewide scale.
CCT’s main program areas are:
-
Strategic
Philanthropy – CCT works with individuals, families and foundations to
design customized conservation giving programs. Donors are directed to
projects where their contributions are significantly leveraged and make an
impact.
-
Statewide
Leadership – CCT works to provide statewide conservation leadership in
Colorado.
CCT’s approach to grant making is unique in that they do
not specifically grant individual grants to individual isolated
projects. Rather, statewide priority
areas are identified and a strategic package of grants, whose combined use result in more than just the sum of the individual
grants, is put in place. Grants fund the full range of land and water
protection tools and are tailored to meet the needs of each area, including
land acquisition, low interest loans, stewardship and restoration, planning,
public policy development, and innovative real estate techniques such as
limited/conservation development.
An example of one of the first
package grant awards was in Gunnison.
Assistance was provided to purchase a conservation easement, fund two
planning efforts, and assist with a local organization’s fundraising
capacity.
CCT does not accept unsolicited grant proposals.
|
|
Eligibility
|
Local governments, including municipalities and counties,
and non-profit land conservation organizations are eligible to receive
funding from CCT.
CCT does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. If
a project falls within a CCT priority area and/or addresses a statewide land
conservation need, a brief description of the proposed project should be sent
to CCT.
|
|
Annual Funds
Available
|
Available funds determine amounts available periodically
for grant making.
|
|
Comments
|
It is important to note that CCT makes grants only in
priority areas, and only in strategic packages. Interested organizations should follow
instructions provided above in the Eligibility section.
|
|
Contact
|
Lise Aangeenbrug,
Director of Programs
Colorado
Conservation Trust
2334 Broadway,
Suite A
Boulder,
CO 80304
Tel: 720-565-8289
Email: liseaa@coct.org
|