North Branch Land Trust

“As a holder of conservation easements, nblt must enforce the terms of these legal agreements. Nblt may discover a violation in a number of ways: during an annual monitoring visit, as reported by neighbors, easement donors, new property owners, passersby or other interested parties, or during formal observation. After discovering the potential violation, nblt's designated staff shall review the conservation easement document, baseline inventory, and monitorng reports to determine the exact nature of the suspected violation and when it took place. If the suspected violation was not adequately documented at a monitoring visit, nblt staff will visit the site to inspect and document the suspected violation. The violation must be described in detail including material impact, location and extent. Photographs should be keyed to a photo map of the subject property and each should be signed and dated by the photographer. Quantitative measurements of damage to the affected resource should be noted as appropriate. Field notes, signed and dated by the person conducting the inspection, should make explicit comparison with the baseline data. A thorough record will be essential should nblt need to go to court. Nblt's designated staff shall evaluate the violation and formulate the required remedies. All remedies shall be reasonably calculated to correct promptly the conditions constituting a breach of the terms of the conservation easement. Designated staff shall contact the landowner to explain the situation. If a third-party caused the violation, a meeting with all perties will be arranged. If the matter does not end with prompt compliance, the executive director, president of the board, and the chairperson of the land committee may recomend to the board that nblt pursue enforcement through more formal legal channels; including arbitration, mediation or litigation.”

“Conservation easements are intangible assets comprised of listed rights and/or restrictions over property that are conveyed by a property owner to the land trust in order to protect the owned property as a natural area, as defined in federal regulations. Conservation easements are granted in perpetuity and stay with the property even if it is sold. The land trust acts as a steward of the rights, ensuring that the landowner or subsequent landowners honor the conservation easement. Conservation easements purchased are recorded at actual cost and are carried at that basis throughout the period owned. If donated, no value has been assigned to the conservation easements due to the lack of foreseeable future cash flow benefits and absence of a secondary conservation easement market.”

“The land trust qualifies as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c) (3) of the internal revenue code and is a pennsylvania nonprofit corporation. Accordingly, the land trust is not subject to federal and state income taxes. In accordance with the financial accounting standards board guidance on accounting for uncertainty in income taxes, management evaluated the land trust's tax positions and concluded that the land trust had taken no uncertain tax positions that require adjustment to the financial statements to comply with provisions of this guidance. With few exceptions, the land trust is no longer subject to income tax examinations by federal, state or local tax authorities for the years before june 30, 2022.”

“Fundraising expense 57,644”

“Fundraising expense 57,644”