RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
ASSOCIATES

Special Points of Interest:


° Financial Management and
Real Estate Planning


° Conservation Easements


° Geographic Information Systems


° Landcover Management


Of National Interest:


U.S. Reaches Pact In Longstanding Lumber Dispute


U.S. Army Corp


New Farm Bill under Developement

Conservation Easements 		Financial Management and Real Estate Planning

We have recently been very involved in a variety of financial planning projects. The projects have involved estate planning, the sale and donation of conservation easements, tax planning for timber sales income, performing real estate acquisition studies and insuring our clients maximize their use of state and federal tax incentives.

Estate planning issues vary significantly depending on the complexity of the estate and the long-term objectives of each client's requirements. One of the most critical elements of Estate Planning is creating a clear vision for the definition of long range objectives. It is important, therefore. in the visioning process to empower all shareholders by providing consistent and accurate information that will harness the collective wisdom of all parties involved.

Planning for cash flow is another important consideration in the visioning process. Owners may wish 'to plan for the continued management of properties for the benefit of multiple heirs or develop a plan whereby some form of real estate transaction occurs to satisfy estate tax liabilities or cover projected expenses for estate settlement, real estate management and reinvestment.

Most "customized Estate Plans'' through financial institutions, are only prepared to simplify the process of transition ownership. These plans essentially enable the next owners continued appreciation of the estate as a stagnant asset. These Estate Plans are also generally embedded in organizational structures that include a partnership, a limited liability corporation or some form of trust as a vehicle to accomplish owners objectives. These plans most often do not consider nor leverage the value of the money in motion of land management and the tax/income advantages available through land management programs.

RMA offers a wide selection of programs that include Estate Planning, the sale and donation of conservation easements, tax planning for timber sales income and real estate acquisition. We insure clients maximize their use of various local, state and federal real estate incentive programs now and into your future generations. The value advantage of Resource Management Associates is to not only establish your visioning criteria, for long range objective definition, but also navigate the development of the Estate Plan while maximizing the current and future benefits of land management.


For example: RMA was the principal architect of Virginia's Riparian Buffer Income Tax Credit as adopted by Virginia's General Assembly in 2001 . The program allows a tax credit for retaining forested buffers adjacent to water bodies while conducting timber harvest operations. Landowners can receive a maximum credit of $17,500. Any unused credit can directly offset state income ox liability for a period of six years. This past year we generated more than $45.000 using this program. We anticipate during 2002. we will exceed $100,000 in credits for our clients. In many cases, a properly designed buffer will enhance property values, protect water quality, promote wildlife populations while providing ox credits to offset timber sales income taxes.

In addition, our Virginia clients can uke advantage of several tax credit programs designed to encourage the adoption of conservation practices. For a client who owned a nursery, RMA designed a irrigation runoff recovery system that recycled irrigation water, increased production, improved water quality entering an adjoining water body while receiving the maximum tax credit of $17,500.

Call Resource Management Associates to review your current Estate Plan or to structure a new one and take advantage of what your Estate can do for you today.



RMA would also like to announce the addition of Robert Kerns, CPA, as a new associate. He will be responsible for maintaining our data base of client real estate records. developing client financial and management reports and providing tax preparation services. Bob has over 30 years of accounting and tax planning experience. Bob began his career with Ernest Young, one of the top public accounting firms in the nation, and specialized in corporate audits, involving the banking, manufacturing, healthcare, and energy business. Bob was the Chief financial officer of a diversified health care corporation with $50 million annual revenue and 350 employees. Bob has provided individual and corporate income tax preparation services for agricultural and real business sectors.

Geographic Information Systems (GlS)
Global Information System (GIS) is a tool to analyze data related to real estate in a map format. This tool, in concert with others. allows us to rapidly analyze multiple forms of data to create valuable information for planning, permitting and proposal presentation.

Resource Management Associates' proprietary libraries contain digital maps, aerial and satellite photographs, tax parcel boundaries, and natural resource data layers. Our capabilities allow use of these data sets to quickly and efficiently analyze land management opportunities by investigating relation ships between soils, vegetation, hydrology, elevations and land ownership patterns. This provides us extensive information on your land before we even visit the site.

Once on-site, our staff uses a hand-held satellite based Global positioning System (GPS) to determine exact locations of important features- either areas, points, or lines. A series of 27 satellites transmit signals that are collected by our portable Trimble TM GPS system, which calculates positional data. A variety of additional field data can be recorded for each feature and then transferred into our GIS system for further analysis.

Using this tool we have been able to evaluate potential large-acreage real estate acquisitions for clients in Florida and Georgia.

Landcover Management
Landcover management is one of the most important elements that effect real estate Valued. Well managed vegetation can provide functional benefits by providing aesthetic protection from adjacent existing or future land uses, create recreational opportunities and provide a variety of valuable crops. Ducks Unlimited and RMA corroboratively designed a 53 acre wetland restoration project in a low lying agricultural field. We designed a land- cover that includes groves of Bald Cypress, Atlantic White Cedar and bottomland hardwood forest with borders of a variety of shrubs to provide food and cover for wildlife. As the habitat develops over the next several years, the site will be an ideal location for recreation and perhaps as a destination for eco-tourism.


"Changing the hardcover from poor quality agricultural land into highly productive wildlife habitat will concurrently create greater economic and environmental values, everyone wins"

S.D. Mallette

RMA recently directed a design team in western Georgia to convert 711-acres of agricultural lands to both wetlands for waterfowl management and the restoration of upland acreage to Long-leaf pine stands to support the development and expansion of a quail hunting plantation. While meeting the objectives of the owners, the project concurrently enhanced the habitat for the endangered gopher tortoise and migratory habitat for the threatened wood stork.



Employee Bios
Larry Watson II is RMA's main Forestry Conservationist. He assists private landowners to manage the landcover on their property. He supervises timber operations to make sure that harvests are set up in accord with best management practice guidelines, such as maintaining streamside management zones to protect water quality. He also monitors logging for overall neatness and land protection in the interest of the landowner. Larry also reforests pine and hardwoods for timber production, wildlife habitat enhancement, and recreational purposes.

This image illustrates a permanent wildlife pond with a constructed waterfowl-nesting island. Shallow winter water levels will cover approximately 30 acres, which will serve as an ideal habitat for diverse recreational uses.

U.S. Reaches Pact In Longstanding Lumber Dispute
Canada to Get $4 Billion In Plan That Scraps Duties, May Pressure Housing Costs

MONTREAL -- Canada and the U.S. reached an accord aimed at settling their longstanding dispute over Canadian softwood-lumber exports. Canada last year exported to the U.S. $7.4 billion of softwood lumber.

Before details were officially disclosed yesterday, the agreement had drawn fire from some Canadian industry and provincial officials, raising questions about whether it would win needed support from the major provinces. Softwood lumber is a key component in home building, and some U.S. housing groups warned the framework agreement could add to U.S. home prices. Mr. Harper said the agreement will provide "stable and predictable access" to the U.S. market for Canadian producers and would enable the countries -- which have the world's biggest bilateral trading relationship -- to move on to other issues.

Under the plan, U.S. import duties would be scrapped. Instead, Canada would impose measures to restrict exports if lumber markets weaken and prices fall. Provinces could choose between an export tax, or a combination of export taxes and volume restrictions. Canadian lumber currently accounts for about 34% of the U.S. market.
The U.S. would return at least $4 billion of duties to Canadian producers. Roughly $1 billion would remain in U.S. hands, with half of that going to members of the industry coalition -- a provision that irked Canadian critics of the deal.

Some U.S. groups warned the deal could drive up housing costs. Jerry Howard, chief executive of the National Association of Home Builders, said a graduated export tax "would raise lumber prices and create significant volatility in the marketplace." A spokeswoman for the Alliance of American Consumers for Affordable Homes said the measures could be especially harmful amid rising interest rates.

U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Issues New Wetland Permits
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers issued new Nationwide wetland permits in January that may impact landowners actions on jurisdictional wetlands. The nationwide permits are designed to streamline the permitting process by categorizing various activities that affect wetlands with minimal impact. Performance criteria are defined so landowners or users fully understand required performance criteria.

The new permits:

· Reduce the permissible acreage impacts under a nationwide permit from 3 acres to 1/2 acre.

· The program must achieve a 1 : 1 functional replacement of wetlands

· The Corp can allow Nationwide permits to impact more than 300 linear feet of intermittent or ephemeral streams, on a case by case basis.

The State of Virginia and the Corp of Engineers are currently working to transfer the responsibility for the non-tidal wetland protection program to Virginia

Virginia legislature adopted a non-tidal wetland program in 2001 and must demonstrate to the Corp that the states regulations / program are consistent before program transfer can occur.

Contact RMA for any assistance in understanding or implementing these new regulations.



This image illustrates a house built on a wetland lot, and will now be subject to
permit and mitigation requirements.

Politics and Policy - New Farm Bill Under Developments

The new farm bill proposes to raise commodity payments to cotton and rice formers in the Mississippi River which will encourage nutrient enrichment of the Gulf of Mexico, then in a different section of the bill invest large amounts of conservation dollars to fight the same enrichment to restore the Gulf
House and Senate Negotiators have been struggling to finalize the new farm bill. You may recall in 1996, the Freedom to Farm Act was passed by congress and was intended to phase out government interfer- ence in the production and marketing of crops. Farmers were to be weaned from govt. programs over a 7 year phase out period that begin with front loaded program payments for many commodities. After a few years and a drought, Congress re-invested in commodity payments and government payments are greater than ever. Negotiators have recently approved an estimated 73.5 billion in new 10-year spending of which 47 billion or 60% is for commodity programs, 17 billion for conservation and 6.4 billion for nutrition programs. Many farmers resent the federal program payments distortion of free-markets and the promotion of overproduction and lower prices. The program payments tend to encourage the retention of marginal produces whose collective impact hurt more progressive farmers. The new proposed bill also proposes major funding in- creases for land-conservation programs, including a much expanded farmlands protection initiative. The last farm bill provided $5 million/year for this effort. The current bill provides $100 million/year or nearly $1 billion commitment to this program during the next 10 years - double what the house first proposed.

Conservation Easements - Forever is a long time
Planning for "forever" takes very deliberate and thoughtful consideration. Conservation Easements can be a useful tool for landowners to establish a perpetual legacy, while obtaining valuable income and estate tax benefits. However, these easements bring value only if properly designed.

Many conservation organizations today advocate easements (legal contracts restricting future land use) as a tool to limit development and protect environmental character. Landowners need to carefully review easement language in order to insure that it protects the property and allows the land to produce sufficient income for future economic and environmental sustainability. It is important then, to note that easement conditions are clear and subject to minimal interpretation in the future.

RMA has represented landowners in the development of easement language. And through experience, we've found that many easements are written by lawyers or "bio-crats" without a clear understanding of the practices associated with land management, which in some cases even precludes sound conservation practices. Maximizing income and estate tax benefits are ultimately the landowner's responsibility. However, owners should not assume the non-profit or state agency holding the easement is similarly motivated.



Contact RMA to review any Conservation Easements you may have, or to develop a program that we can customize for you and your land.

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