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Tennessee Heritage Conservation Bond Act

 

In order to make a substantial investment in land conservation in Tennessee it is necessary to have a larger sum of money available for acquisition than currently exists.  While the conservation account created by the real estate transfer fee and the resources made available to the Heritage Trust Board are valuable, they have proven insufficient to protect larger tracts of conservation lands.  Recent liquidations of thousands of acres by Bowater, International Paper and Weyerhaeuser exemplify this problem. 

By issuing a bond in the amount of $200 million, the state will create a capital resource that could be used in the next five years to acquire the highest priority conservation acreage in Tennessee.  Current conservation holdings – parks, forests, refuges – benefit the state and localities with environmental, recreational, tourism and wildlife values, and future acquisitions will enhance these benefits. 

Various state agencies have identified lands estimated to be nearly $400 million in acquisition costs.  Many of these lands will not be available for protection under the current scheme – bureaucratic delays and inadequate resources are evident.  A $200 million bond would be the primary capital for acquisition and would leverage matching funds from the federal government and private donations, making the acquisition of the highest priority lands possible by 2010. 

 During 2006 the General Assembly should pass legislation that would:

• Authorize the issuance of a public bond valued at $200 million, to be made available to the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environment and Conservation, the Division of Forestry and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

• Amend the current recordation tax to allow real estate transfer fees to be used to service payments on the interest and principal created by the bond and to finance annual in-lieu-of payments to localities

• Allow the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Board to make fee simple acquisitions or enter into conservation easements on those lands deemed highest priority by the three departments

This strategy utilizes a portion of the existing conservation accounts for the life of the bond.  This short-term adjustment will be offset with permanent conservation of Tennessee lands that should remain protected from development.  In many instances, forested land may remain available for timber activities provided that best management practices are used and the revenues (in excess of costs) are utilized to service the bond debt.

  

Protect Tennessee’s Heritage by 2010

 

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