Conservation deals await feds

More than 3,000 acres of prime agricultural land in Carson Valley have been earmarked for conservation easements through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act. Another 1,360 acres could be approved during the next round.

That's music to the ears of many Douglas County residents, but the Bureau of Land Management hasn't completed one agreement despite the availability of funding.

Commissioner Kelly Kite said local Bureau of Land Management officials are supportive, but once the process is out of local hands nothing seems to come of it.

"We've been getting rosy reports for a couple of years now, but no money," he said. "We have a lot of people depending on them coming through. I don't know what we can do to make it happen, but it hasn't yet."

The funding is acquired from the sale of public land in and around Las Vegas. A small portion is set aside for education and for the Southern Nevada Water Authority. The balance is set aside in a special account for projects throughout the state in a number of categories, including parks and trails, conservation easements and environmentally sensitive land acquisitions.

A portion can be used to purchase the development rights on ranch lands, a way of preserving them as open space in perpetuity.

Rancher Russ Scossa said he has been waiting years to complete his transaction.

He plans on ranching for at least another 40 years and there are no financial imperatives at this point, but that hasn't been the case for other ranchers who, due to financial issues, have been forced out of their deals because of delays, he said.

He decided to make the move because he recognizes some long-term needs for the Scossa ranch.

"We'll still be able to work the ranch and have some investment to subsidize," he said. "Our ranch might not survive unless we get some money out of the property to expand, or have money coming in.

"It's getting harder and harder to make a living on smaller ranches."

Like any real estate transaction, the money received for these easements is dependent on an appraisal, but the process has been slow. These properties often appreciate beyond the appraisal by the time the deal is ready to close. The property can be worth much more if it's subdivided and sold and that should be a consideration during the appraisal process, Scossa said.

"Even a year-old appraisal isn't realistic, with respect to what's happening in the real estate market," he said. "If we had a better appraisal system that looks to the future, a lot more people would be interested."

The Flying J Ranch, Hussman Land & Livestock Co., Stodieck Brothers LLC, the Scossa Brothers and Churia Holstein Limited Partnership in Carson Valley are just some of the projects waiting for funding since they were first approved in the fourth round of funding under the act, according to information from Terra Firma, a local organization involved in these transactions.

The budget for these projects totals roughly $2.9 billion, according to BLM officials.

Time is a critical issue, according to Glen Williams of Terra Firma.

"With generational shifts all over the West, it's extraordinary these ranches haven't already broken up. It's also extraordinary that the ranchers are willing to enter the program," he said.

Many ranchers are also feeling pressure from the community to protect their properties, and ranchers would like to do that, but compensation is an issue. Without a viable conservation program, ranchers have no choice but to break up their property into 20-acre lots, Williams said.

Often, sellers are not willing to enter into these transactions when the funding is available, but that's not the case in Carson Valley.

"The resources and money are here and support from the Senate delegation is strong," Williams said.

Scossa has other concerns about the viability of the funding.

"The longer the money sits there and isn't channeled, the more pressure there is to do something else with it," he said.

Jim Stobaugh, realty specialist for the Bureau of Land Management said the Carson Valley projects are funded and processing on the Hussman property should close some time in the next month.

"Others are watching to see how this one goes," he said. "As soon as we close the transaction with the Hussmans, we'll immediately start working on the next one in the queue."

David Hussman said preserving the ranch has always been his family's goal. As the owner, he was able to negotiate his contract and the family was happy with the appraisal.

"There are some things we objected to, but we got those straightened out," he said. "The landowner gets to negotiate the contract. It isn't set in concrete.

"We've learned to be cautiously optimistic. It hasn't quite worked out yet, but we're hoping this time, it's going to."

• Contact reporter Susie Vasquez at svasquez@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 211.