Life in North Georgia, Real Estate in the Mountains

One of the local organizations dedicated to helping this entire area of North Georgia maintain the natural resources that brought us here is the Mountain Conservation Trust of Georgia.  (You can visit the MCTGA home page at http//MCTGA.org  ) The organization has been working to preserve North Georgia mountain land since 1991.  It took on a much more active role in the process a few years ago when Dr. Robert Keller joined the MCTGA as Executive Director.   Robert brought a wealth of knowledge and a new sense of energy to the organization that has resulted in new programs, increased conservation efforts and more land added to conservation trusts or protected by conservation easements. 

The Land Trust Alliance is a national organization founded in 1982 to assist local and regional land trusts in their conservation efforts.  In 1982 there were 450 local and state land trust organizations and today there are over 1700.  As a result of their member organization’s efforts, the Land Trust Alliance reports nearly 37 Million acres protected by local organizations today as compared to less than 5 million in 1998. This year the Land Trust Alliance began “accrediting” its member land trusts and the Mountain Conservation Trust of Georgia was one of only 39 trusts nationwide to gain accreditation in 2008.  According to press releases by the LTA, the accreditation indicates that land trust organizations meet national standards, protect the public’s trust and confidence and act in a way to make conservation efforts permanent.   

Congratulations to Dr. Keller, his staff, the Board Directors and, perhaps most importantly, to the members of the Mountain Conservation Trust of Georgia whose membership, volunteer efforts and financial support make these conservation programs possible.

If you live in North Georgia and you would like to support the conservation efforts of the Mountain Conservation Trust of Georgia then I urge you to join.  You don’t have to be a large land owner to join; you just have to have an interest in keeping our community beautiful and our mountains safe for generations after ours.  If you do own acreage in North Georgia or you are interested in buying acreage, there are some very significant tax advantages at local and state level that accrue to owners who manage their lands in accordance with certain prescribed conservation regulations.  At the federal level there are even more significant tax advantages to placing permanent conservation easements on land that you own or purchase. I can assist you in identifying and purchasing property.   Dr. Keller is an expert on all these programs and through the MCTGA can assist you in identifying appropriate programs and creating plans and easements that would meet program requirements.

Regina and I became members in 2006 and since beginning to work in North Georgia real estate full time later that year, I have given a donation to the Mountain Conservation Trust of Georgia equivalent to the annual membership fee for each new client that I have worked with that moved into North Georgia.  It is a small gesture to be sure; never-the-less, each new member is a new voice and ultimately the louder our voice the more land we may be able to conserve.

Congratulations to Dr. Keller and the Mountain Conservation Trust of Georgia.  Keep up the good work!

See you ’round the mountains,

Don