National Land Realty has for many years collaborated with other local organizations that excel at their work in a host of areas that are complementary to the services that National Land Realty provides to its clients, including land conservation. 

When the clients’ forestry goals also include sustainability, conservation, and stewardship, the Asheville, NC-based 501c3 non-profit organization EcoForesters is a partner we often refer to or collaborate with for valuable support. 

Western North Carolina is fortunate to have millions of acres of forest lands. But 70 percent of those forests are privately owned and less than 25 percent have management plans. This means that landowners are mostly unaware of the threats to forests, like invasive species and monocultures brought on by past management decisions. This is where EcoForesters comes in. The organization is committed to helping landowners and empowering them to make wise decisions that will increase the value of their land and benefit the environment all at the same time.

Past mutual clients have worked with EcoForesters to develop new forest management plans, enroll in NC tax programs, develop and implement invasive species management plans and create long-term strategies to improve the health and production of timber stands and wildlife habitat on their property. The work this organization does is often integrated with conceptual and master planning design processes led by local land planning/landscape architects, used by land trusts to support conservation easement values, and helps the landowners understand and achieve their forestry goals.

National Land also makes financial donations to EcoForesters Invasive Stewardship fund that enable the organization to – among other things – organize education and outreach programs with local land trusts and landowners to help them understand how to properly control invasive plants that threaten our native forests. Through this fund, National Land is able to support efforts to control these non-native invasive species on publicly owned, land trust managed, and other properties where these plants are taking over and can spread to other properties.

Concrete examples of recent work together include:

– Buyer due diligence evaluation of a 125+ acre property that was logged 12 years ago and was heavily infested with oriental bittersweet, multiflora rose, privet, paulownia, and tree of heaven. The new owner worked with EcoForesters to create a five-year plan and cost estimate to control the invasive plants and allow the forest to regenerate. This also allowed the buyer to negotiate a substantial price reduction prior to the sale.

– New owner forest management plan on 175+ acres of mature forest that allowed the buyer to transfer the property in forestry tax status and save on current property taxes. And a timber appraisal for tax basis reference to allow future tax savings when a harvest is appropriate.  Additionally the information will be critical in future conservation easement discussions with the local land trust as the owner plans to protect much of the property in the future.

– Buyer developed a forest management plan during the due diligence process to understand opportunities and constraints on 100+ acre woodland property with sustainable and commercial timber harvest goals.

The proper, professional management of natural resources benefits both the interests of landowners and of the community as a whole. We are proud to collaborate with and support a local non-profit organization that excels at supporting landowners in this valuable endeavor.