Mass. Court Upholds Tax Break for Conservation Land

Massachusetts’s highest court handed a victory to nonprofit conservation groups Thursday, ruling that land they own and shield from development should remain exempt from property taxes, writes The Boston Globe.

In a case that has been closely watched by preservation nonprofits and local governments nationwide, the state Supreme Judicial Court denied an effort by Hawley, Mass., to tax 120 acres of woodland owned by the New England Forestry Foundation. Town officials contended the foundation had done little to make the land publicly accessible, but the court unanimously backed the charity’s argument that maintaining the forest and its wildlife habitats in of itself delivers a public benefit.

Preservation groups feared that a ruling for Hawley would open the floodgates for similar tax bills from cash-strapped governments, impeding their ability to buy and protect land. “It would have been a huge change to the landscape of Massachusetts and the viability of conservation charities,” said Frank Lowenstein, deputy director of the forestry foundation.