Layout: Single Page Full-Width
Publications
Publications
Dig in and learn...
We are developing a number of publications that are designed to answer your questions about land protection, the Tug Hill landscape, and planned giving.
If you have other ideas about publications that would be helpful, please let us know. You can contact Mark Pacilio, Executive Director, at mpacilio@tughilltomorrowlandtrust.org with questions or suggestions.
Strategic Plan
Land Protection
12 Steps to Conserving Your Land
Heritage Trout and Undisturbed Wilds at Heart of Tug Hill
Discovering Our Habitat
Tug Hill: A Four Season Guide to the Natural Side
An easy-to-use source for the identification of a variety of species, the 288-pages include 64-color plates, beautifully illustrated and edited by local naturalist and wildlife artist Robert McNamara.
$27.00 plus shipping
Wish List
Wish List
Sometimes it’s the little things that make a difference.
Other times, it’s a big change. No matter the gift, we appreciate it and the fact that you care. As a community-supported conservation organization, your generosity can make all the difference.
Here are some ideas of gifts that would make a big difference this year.
If you have other ideas, let us know. We’d love to brainstorm with you.
Beautiful Photographs
We’d love to be able to share photographs of nature, farms, and people enjoying the out-of-doors.
Community Gatherings
We are looking for folks who would like to host an informal gathering with friends and neighbors to increase their awareness about local conservation work. This would not be a fundraising gathering.
Corporate Eagle Sponsor
Is your business interested in helping to celebrate, and maintain, the special places of Tug Hill?
The region’s landscape—it’s farms, forests, rivers and streams—are a big part of why people live and work here. Businesses, both large and small, are playing a role in helping to ensure that we can offer free educational program, assist families to conserve their land, and maintain trails and wildlife.
You too can be part of this and simultaneously raise your businesses profile as a land trust sponsor for our events, programs, or as a member. Some businesses volunteer as a team to help with trail days; others sponsor a program or special event; and there are those that help to underwrite a specific conservation effort. The ones who really want to step it up do all three.
Each year opportunities are different so please call Emily Males, Communications and Marketing Director, at (315) 779-8240 or email her at emales@tughilltomorrowlandtrust.org and she’ll be happy to brainstorm about what feels right to you.
2023 Corporate Eagle Sponsors
Next Steps
Are you interested in exploring if conservation is right for you, or someone you know? There are a number of ways to conserve your land.
- You can continue to own it and protect it with a long-term conservation agreement (called a conservation easement).
- Download the FREE eBook on 12 Steps to Conserving Your Land.
- You can donate the property to our land trust, and we would either conserve it and create a public conservation area or sell it once conserved (if there are conservation attributes on the property), and use the proceeds to further other conservation work.
- You can also sign up for our Land Owner’s Registry, where we work with you to identify conservation management options for you.
- Check out the financial benefits of land protection
If you would like additional information, email Mark Pacillio, Executive Director, at mpacilio@tughilltomorrowlandtrust.org. You can also call him at (315) 779-8240. He’ll be happy to chat with you confidentially.
FAQs
Below is a short list of frequently asked questions about protecting your property.
Tax Benefits
If you own land with important natural or historic resources, donating a conservation easement can be one of the smartest ways to conserve the land you love and protect Tug Hill’s natural heritage, while maintaining your private property rights and possibly realizing significant federal and state tax benefits.
Federal tax benefits of conservation easements from Land Trust Alliance
The federal incentive allows a conservation easement donor to deduct the value of the easement, as determined by a professional, up to 50% of their adjusted gross income in any year, and donors to take deductions for their contribution over as many as 16 years.
For farmers, adjusted gross income in any year can be deducted up to 100% for as many as 16 years.
Review and download federal tax benefit info
Land Trust Alliance Conservation Easement Tax Incentives (PDF)
NYS Conservation Easement Tax Credit
Landowners that donate an easement are also eligible for an annual NYS Income Tax credit that is equal to 25% of the property taxes they pay on the land covered by the easement up to $5,000 a year. This is a refundable credit, so if no income tax is owed, the landowner will receive a check for that amount. This benefit passes on to subsequent owners, providing an incentive for owning conserved land.
By discussing your cherished property with you, we can assess the conservation opportunities that best fit you and your property’s resources, your financial or charitable objectives, and your vision for the future of your land.
Please call our Associate Director, JJ Schell (315) 779-8240 to learn more about how to conserve your land, or land in your community, and be a part of keeping the Tug Hill region special for future generations.
Frequently Asked Questions about the NYS Conservation Easement Tax Credit (PDF)
Forms and instructions to file for this NYS credit:
Conservation Easements
Background
For more than 25 years THTLT has been working to protect an extraordinary rural landscape in upstate NY—protecting Tug Hill into the future. These important local and family lands that make Tug Hill so special are farms that feed our families with fresh produce and dairy; forests providing timber, firewood and wildlife habitat; and endless recreational opportunities—inviting outdoor adventures and connecting generations, young and old, to the land.
We work closely with landowners, farm families, partner organizations, towns and villages to protect the lands they cherish the most. The main “tool” used is called a conservation easement. However, not every property is suited to an easement, and through thoughtful conversations, THTLT can help determine what the best option is for you.
You may be wondering, what is a conservation easement?
A conservation easement is a legally binding agreement made between the landowner and Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust that extinguishes the development rights on your property. This is done to protect the natural, agricultural, scenic, or historic values inherent to the farms, forests, and wildlands of Tug Hill.
With a conservation easement on your land, the landowner is assured that the land will be protected forever without giving up ownership of the land. Landowners who enter into this agreement with us continue to own the conserved property and pay property taxes yet are free to sell the land or pass it on to the next generation. Public access is not a requirement of a conservation easement.
Conservation easements are very flexible, and tailored to each landowner and property. For example, a landowner may want to retain the right to farm or harvest timber, retain future building rights, or use the land for education and other activities that sustain the property’s special resources. These details are worked out between the landowner and the Land Trust.
Once finalized, a conservation easement will be tied to the land, whether the land is sold or remains in the family. This legal continuity will provide you the assurance that the land you cared for will be protected for perpetuity.
Related information:
“We have the peace of mind of knowing the land will be taken care of the way we want.”
Rita Weibel
Conservation Easement Landowner
Land Protection
LAND PROTECTION
Conservation Options
Everyone conserves their land for different reasons, but they all have something in common: they love their land.
By discussing your cherished property with you, we can assess the protection opportunities that best fit you and your property’s resources, your financial or charitable objectives, and your vision for the future of your land.
Check out the different options below. If you have questions, please call Land Stewardship & Conservation Manager, Emily Antonacci at (315) 779-8240 or email her at eantonacci@tughilltomorrowlandtrust.org to learn more about how to protect your land, or land in your community, and be a part of keeping the Tug Hill region special for future generations.
PROGRAMS
WHERE WE WORK
The Tug Hill Region
Located between the Adirondack Mountains and Lake Ontario in upstate New York, the Tug Hill region is one of the most rural and remote areas of the state. Approximately 2,100 square miles, it consists of 41 towns in portions of Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego and Oneida counties.
Tax Benefits of Conservation
- If you conserve your land, and continue to own it, you may reduce your federal income tax between 50% - 100% for up to 15 years.
- If you donate a conservation easement you may be eligible for an annual NYS Income Tax credit equal to 25% of your property taxes up to $5,000.
- Often is beneficial for family and estate planning, including decreasing estate taxes.
On “the hill”
Where we live it is close to gone forever but up on “the hill” there are so many opportunities to preserve land and we want to be part of preserving this land.
Dan & Lisa Sullivan
Calendar Photo Contest
CALENDAR PHOTO CONTEST
© Emily Rechlin
Calendar Photo Contest
Designed for all of the talented photographers who like to capture the beauty and uniqueness of Tug Hill!
Everyone loves the Tug Hill Tomorrow Calendar and in addition to the calendar, these photos show up on our website, social media pages, and Greenings newsletters. It’s a great way to share your love of the Tug Hill region and inspire others with your talent.
Thank you to the following Sponsors who made the 2024 Calendar possible:
Coughlin
Christmas & Associates
Bob & Carol Keller
GYMO
Northern Credit Union
Jake Johnson Properties
Contest Rules & Deadline
The 2025 calendar photo contest is now running! Deadline to submit your photos is May 1st 2024.
How to Submit:
- You may submit up to 10 photos in total for consideration.
- All photos must be taken in the Tug Hill region.
- We need photos in all seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall).
- When submitting your photos use the following naming format: Last_First_Location_Description_MonthTaken.
- Email your photos to our Communications & Marketing Director, Emily Males at emales@tughilltomorrowlandtrust.org.
You can also share your photos with us by using the free file transferring site called We Transfer. Simply add your photos, add your email address, and email them to emales@tughilltomorrowlandtrust.org. This site limits you to 2GB per transfer. If your files are over 2GB you may send them in batches or compress them. Here are directions for compressing files on a PC and MAC.
A note about resolution and dpi:
For your photo to be used as one of the main, large month photos it must be a high enough resolution to be printed without becoming pixelated. In general, printing terms this is 300 dpi, with a resolution of 2550 pixels x 3300 pixels.
Typically, iPhone photos do not achieve a high enough resolution – but they can be used for the smaller inset photos throughout the calendar.
By submitting your photo to our Tug Hill Photo Contest, you grant Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust the right to reproduce, distribute, and publicly display the photographs and the right to use your name in publications.