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Stories from the Wabanaki forest of the Maritimes, the Spice Forests of Zanzibar, and the mangrove forests of Mozambique.
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Stories from the Wabanaki forest of the Maritimes, the Spice Forests of Zanzibar, and the mangrove forests of Mozambique.
Sign Me UpThe out-migration of young people and poor markets leave a significant gap in forest stewardship in Atlantic Canada, which forces many landowners to clear-cut their forests for income or to retire—or sell their land to someone who will! If you have stewarded your forest with care, the prospect of having your land cleared can be devastating. Community Forests International is trying to fill this gap; let’s take a look at the different options available.
We know this is a big decision. You can download our information for landowners to look over at your convenience and share with family or friends.
We accept partial and full donations of land and, as a registered charity, we can offer charitable tax receipts. If you would like a tax receipt, an appraiser will have to determine the fair market value of the property. If the property is ecologically sensitive, it’s probably eligible to be transferred through the Government of Canada’s Ecological Gifts program. The program is complex, but it applies a capital gains tax rate of 0% to the property; the benefits of this will depend on your personal financial situation.
We purchase and preserve healthy forests that are a minimum of 50 acres; with forest cover that is at least 80 years old; and have had only light to modest cutting in the past. Once we come to an agreement on price, it’s like any other land transaction: we both engage lawyers and pay our separate costs related to the transaction. There are tax benefits to selling land to a charity if you are willing to sell your property for less than 80% of its fair market value, in which case you will receive a charitable tax receipt for the balance.
Many of us are forest owners ourselves and we understand the connection a person has with their land. That's why we take our stewardship role so seriously, and we're here to walk you through the different options.
We're here to answers any questions you have about selling or donating your land—we know that this can be a scary process! Here are the answers to some common questions we receive:
There are several excellent conservation organizations in the Maritimes Provinces; who you sell or donate to depends on your goals and values! We’re a good fit for landowners who support long-term protection with active and adaptive stewardship.
No problem! We typically work with landowners to sever any buildings or farmland from a forest property before purchase.
We often conduct light harvests in our forests to keep them healthy and resilient. We develop an adaptation and management plan for each of our forests, which guide our long-term stewardship decisions.