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Episode 2 of our Leading Through Adversity Series, Drew and David sit down with Russ Link of Camp Olson YMCA to discuss the finer points of conservations easements and how his camp has benefited financially from these endeavors.

Today we have with us Russ Link from YMCA Camp Olson. Welcome, Russ tell us a bit about yourself and your camp.

Thanks for having me. I’ve been in camping my entire adult life with most of that time being with Camp Olson YMCA, an independent camp in Northern Minnesota. It’s rich in history, traditions and land. We have 1,350 acres of property surrounded by numerous lakes.  We try to kids and staff to embrace the spirit of the Northwoods and make great use of these natural resources.

You’ve come up with a unique solution to managing all of this land by taking on a few conservation easements. Please tell us a bit about that.

Most of our land is undeveloped wilderness and as a non-profit camp we do not have to pay property tax on that land but we do still need to manage that land and those resources appropriately. By taking on conservation easements with the Minnesota Land Trust we’ve been able to protect that land while still being able to use it for programming and also bring in a large amount of revenue. Every camp should have a long range plan if considering this endeavor.

What is a long range plan?

There are several types of long range plans. You might make one for programming, or fundraising or site management. In terms of conservation easements, you can incorporate those into your long range site plan if you never plan to develop on the land and you’d like it to be protected forever. Then you should reach out to organizations that write conservation easements. Each state is different. Our land is valuable because of the unique resources on it.

What is a conservation easement?

A conservation easement is protecting land forever, but not necessarily giving up ownership. We gave the right to build on that property but not the right to use that property for programming. In doing so we were paid a lump sum of money to protect that land forever. This process starts with an appraisal, evaluation and survey. Often these items are paid for by the other organization. We recently set aside 37 acres for conservation easement, it was appraised at $400,000. They took 80% of ownership of the land so we were paid $320,000. 

What did you do with the money received and how much land have you put into easement?

Before my tenure, Camp Olson had already put 190 acres into easement. We are set aside 37 acres additionally and now are looking at doing another 77 acres which will pay us about $480,000. This equates to $800,000 for conservation easements under my tenure. This is one time money that we’ll invest in our endowment. Even if the summer camp were to close at least this land will be protected forever.

So this $800,000 investment in the endowment will be producing about $50,000-$80,000 a year in revenue for the camp forever, right?

Yes this income is incredibly valuable. Camps needs 3 revenue streams: from their program fees, from their philanthropic donations and thirdly from earnings or interest. The endowment should cover that third revenue stream. A strong strategic plan is needed and understanding the agreement is very important. Because it’s your land, you have the right to negotiate terms for use on that land. Even unusable land might be valuable in the eyes of a land trust organization. It can be revenue today.

Once the conservation organization owns part of the land what are they doing with it?

First and foremost they are protecting the land forever. They want to work with landowners to protect land in its natural state for future generations. We can continue to manage the land as is laid out in our land management plan. Beyond Camp Olson, our neighbors’ land is increasing in value because the land around them is locked up in a natural state forever. This has strengthened our community relationships. Also during the evaluation we received a full inventory of the natural resources. 

What a great legacy and stewardship program for your campers and alumni. Thanks for joining us Russ.