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The Nature Conservancy Scandals

Sunday, August 2, 2009

The
real estate company that cares

The Native
Forest Council founder Timothy G. Hermach criticized the Nature Conservancy for
its practice to sell land in Texas to its own trustees, who then allowed
drilling for oil in the formerly protected areas. After the press exposed these
and other actions, the Nature Conservancy established a risk evaluation
committee and explored ways to mitigate the damage. Hermach still calls the
conservancy “the real estate company that cares.”

Posted by Harley D. Nomes
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009

TNC
sparks tax battle in Wisconsin

The Nature
Conservancy notified Sauk County Wisconsin officials that the
organization would no longer be paying taxes on 9,000 acres located in several parcels. TNC also announced that it
was eliminating two local jobs due to financial difficulties. The change will be
devastating to some local towns. An official for one of the towns affected said
they would lose more than 50% of their tax revenue used to provide municipal services. The
Nature Conservancy proposes making voluntary payments totaling about half of the
former tax bill to help make up for the shortfall.
Other than the federal
government, The Nature Conservancy is the only landowner with property in all 50
states that is exempt from income taxes and can also stipulate that it will not
pay local property taxes. One of the Wisconsin municipal officials is quoted as saying "When they
purchased that property, they said they were going to be good residents of the
municipalities and they were going to pay property taxes," said supervisor Paul
Endres of North
Freedom. "If they aren't going to pay property taxes, they should sell the
property."
According to the most recent financial filings, The Nature
Conservancy had 1.4 billion in revenue and only $900 million in expenses. As a
tax-exempt entity, the $500 million net revenue is also exempt from income tax.

Posted by Harley D. Nomes
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Saturday, February 7, 2009

The
Nature Conservancy blamed for decline in US fish population

The Nature
Conservancy is notoriously recognized in the "Cold, Dead Fish Awards in 2008"
for their actions contributing to the decline of U.S. fish populations. Indybay.org
reports that this year's competition was fierce "as corrupt politicians,
agribusiness leaders, corporate polluters and their allies launched a full-scale
offensive on the imperiled fish populations of California and the
West".

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/02/06/18568658.php

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Friday, January 16, 2009

Paniced
municipalities blame The Nature Conservancy

Only hours
after The Nature Conservancy announced that it is reacting to property tax
increases by refusing to pay them, local governments are responding by warning
of the coming financial problems within their communities. Municipal governments
pay for schools, roads and local services through property taxes. In some
municipalities The Nature Conservancy is both the largest landowner and the
largest taxpayer. If they don't pay their fair share, the community can be
financially devastated.

The Nature Conservancy is the world's largest
real estate broker with earned revenues and cash reserves that exceed the
amounts of most of the nation's largest for-profit businesses. There is no doubt
that The Nature Conservancy could afford to pay its tax bill. Municipal
governments do not have the legal authority to force The Nature Conservancy to
pay taxes on property it owns so some people are now calling for federal
legislation to force The Nature Conservancy to pay.

When private
citizens and for-profit companies do not pay their real estate tax bill, the
property can be seized and sold at auction in a process known as a "tax sale".
This procedure does not currently apply to non-profit corporations like The
Nature Conservancy. We support proposed federal legislation that would extend
the same procedures to land owned by The Nature
Conservancy.

http://www.wiscnews.com/spe/news/432892

Posted by Harley D. Nomes
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Thursday, January 15, 2009

The
Nature Conservancy cuts local WI school revenues

The Nature
Conservancy announced that it will stop paying taxes on the land it owns in some
rural communities- taxes that local government use to fund schools, roads and
other critical local services.

Rural communities that are locates in
areas where The nature Conservancy is the largest landowner know that they
cannot financially survive without TNCs support, so this could be the beginning of
the end of these communities. We suppose that after some years of struggle these
communities will deteriorate financially, people will move out, foreclosures
will increase, and property values will fall.

But have no fear, once the
communities start to look like ghost towns then The Nature Conservancy will be
there to buy up the remaining properties from the former residents for at
pennies on the former dollar value and then sell this land back to the state's
taxpayers at a big profit.

http://www.wiscnews.com/bnr/news/432811

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Monday, October 13, 2008

13%
of earth now protected by environmentalists

The Nature
Conservancy turned heads earlier this year by announcing an ambitious plan to
protect 10% of the world's total land. This appeared to be a strikingly
ambitious land acquisition endeavor; in fact the largest real estate acquisition proposal in
history. But with declining land prices and a worldwide credit crunch, the
cash-rich Nature Conservancy has often the only available buyer to farmers and
landowners who need to sell. It is not surprising that conservation land deals are
moving forward at a record pace this year. Still, no one expected to find such a
dramatic change in land conservation totals so quickly.

Now Mark Spalding, senior marine
scientist with The Nature Conservancy announces that 13% of
the world's land surface is now protected open space in a new
book "The World's Protected Areas, examines the relationship between people
and protected areas". Mr. Spalding says that the amount of protected land
is now equivalent in size to the total amount of the world's croplands. It is
not clear whether TNC
underestimates the amount of land previously under
conservation prior to announcing its goal or whether the land acquisition
project has progressed beyond its stated goals.

In the past The Nature
Conservancy has relied primarily on a strategy of purchasing open land from
private landowners and selling the land back to local governments at higher
prices. This strategy vaulted TNC the world's wealthiest organizations. More
recently, TNC began
promoting a conservation easement program that allows farmers and rural
landowners to continue to own and use the land, but prevented future
development. Purchasing easements is less expensive than purchasing land and may
be better for preserving the stability of rural and agricultural
communities.

No comment has be issued by The Nature Conservancy about how
this recent announcement of 13% will affect its plans for future land
acquisitions. It seems reasonable possible given the current worldwide real estate
market that environmental groups like TNC could continue to acquire land at a rapid
pace and possible boost the total amount of protected land to 15% to 20% of the
earth's surface. It seems unlikely that attainment of the 10% goal would deter
TNC from future land
acquisitions.

Mr. Spalding points out that
our waterways and oceans are not equally protected, with only 1/2 of one percent
of the world's oceans under conservation easement. Freshwater protection is even
lower. This might represent the next major "growth market" for TNC acquisitions with
potential consequences on water users and fishing industries. Noting that this
major announcement is made by a marine scientist lends credibility to my
suspicion that TNC
is gearing for an increase in oceanic and waterway ventures. The fact that Mr.
Spalding's
announcement was strategically published overseas in The
Daily Telegraph rather than in more critical U.S. news sources (due to the
current political debate on use of offshore oil reserves) also makes me believe
that this book announcement is part of a larger strategic maneuver by TNC.

Posted by Harley D. Nomes
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Wednesday, October 1, 2008

conservation
at any cost

Coverage
of The Nature Conservancy's brokerage of Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina
mentions by Triangle Business Journal completely ommitted the financial details
of the deal. Taxpayers would likely be shocked at the hefty price they are
paying for the brokerage services of The Nature Conservancy. Yet if news
reporters like this one at Triangle Busines Journal take their coverage facts
solely from the press releases put out by The Nature Conservancy, we are certain
to avoid focus on the cost to taxpayers or the huge brokerage payments paid for
the deals. Clearly The Nature Conservancy relies on a "conservation at any cost"
mentality of Americans today to continue to accrue hundreds of millions of
profits (sorry, TNC is "non-profit" and non-taxable so we don't call the money
"profits"). The ability to sell to taxpayers and governments makes TNC the
world's largest and richest land broker.

We are not saying that this deal
is not in the best interest of taxpayers or that the motives are suspect, but we
are saying that full disclosure and reporting of the financial aspects of these
huge transactions is absolutely essential.

Posted by Harley D. Nomes
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Blog Archive

▼
2009
(5)

▼
August
(1)

The
real estate company that cares

►  May (1)

TNC
sparks tax battle in Wisconsin

►  February
(1)

The
Nature Conservancy blamed for decline in US fi...

►  January
(2)

Paniced
municipalities blame The Nature Conservanc...

The
Nature Conservancy cuts local WI school revenu...

►  2008
(40)

►  October
(2)

13%
of earth now protected by environmentalists

conservation
at any cost

►  August
(3)

Partnering
with Poisoners

Funding
for the Environmentalist Industry

The
Nature Conservancy Criticized in Montana Meeti...

►  July
(1)

At
the Mercy of Environmentalists

►  June
(3)

The
Nature Conservancy as an energy broker

TNC
clashes with Hawaii constitution

Protecting
developers from falling land prices

►  May (4)

Spin
breeds more spin

Landowners
Beware

Tax
watchdogs criticize The Nature Conservancy dea...

Georgia
Governor profits from land deal

►  April
(5)

The
Nature Conservancy vs. Native Americans

Florida
Thrills The Nature Conservancy

Montana
land deal gone bad

Conservation
easements

Will
whistleblower protection work at non-profits?...

►  March
(18)

Nature
Conservancy in Virginia water conflict

Cashing
in on global warming

"Bait
and Switch"

The
Nature Conservancy is No Charity

Nature
Conservancy Sells land in NY

Ivory-billed
Woodpecker Scandal

copycat
uses The Nature Conservancy strategies to ...

The
Nature Conservancy turns to Social Media to Sp...

Bake
Sale for The Nature Conservancy

TNC
brokers most expensive debt for land deal

massive
land purchases creates hostility

undueinfluence.com
condemns The Nature Conservancy...

"How
to Bilk Taxpayers 101"

The
Nature Conservancy violates non-profit laws

IRS
fails to stop The Nature Conservancy

How
it all begins

FOR
SALE - Lodge in TN

Staten
Island CA land deal scandal

►  February
(4)

Why
The Nature Conservancy opposes biofuel

The
Nature Conservancy Burns Forests in Arkansas

Newcomb
New York poised to be next victim

Birth
of The Nature Conservancy Scandal Blog

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