The Magazine of the American Landowner is an essential guide for investors, landowners, and those interested in buying or selling land. The award-winning quarterly is known for its annual survey of America's largest landowners, The Land Report 100.
Issue link: https://landreport.epubxp.com/i/738657
Fortunately, American Timberlands has the experience, depth, and skills necessary to bring a project like Carter Stilley together from start to finish. It partnered with an environmental consulting firm to develop the mitigation banking instrument, a document that outlines the development and credit potential of the land. The instrument also sets up milestones that have to be reached throughout the project. Credits are received when milestones are met. Upon completion, Carter Stilley had to be approved and permitted by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps also decides how many credits the bank receives and regulates it. From there, American Timberlands contracted much of the project themselves at a much-reduced cost, rebuilding the stream and replanting hardwood trees to re-create the wetlands. Thanks to strong working relationships with the regulatory community and agencies that buy credits, the company is in the management phase of Carter Stilley. Could a landowner create a mitigation bank using a property in his portfolio? The answer is yes, but the potential pitfalls are numerous. "It's not a risk-free venture," warns Row- land. "From the very beginning, it's a sizable investment. To get a permit takes time, and the work has to be done just right. You could get to the end and find out that you really don't have the right site. If your bank isn't in the right marketplace, or you don't have the right buyers, you might have a lot of credits and no buyers." "Our mantra is doing well by doing good. " — Harris Chewning Director of Capital Markets, American Timberlands Company FA L L 2 0 1 6 | The LandReport 71 LANDREPORT.COM PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF AMERICAN TIMBERLANDS COMPANY Rehabilitating a timber tract to mitigation bank standards is a substantial undertaking, one that utilizes a host of techniques such as controlled burns (opposite) and rebuilding streams (above).