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National Park Service
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains, seen here from the Great Sand Dunes National Park, are the backbone of a proposed conservation area announced Friday with a billionaire's pledge to protect 90,000 acres from development.
A billionaire hedge-fund manager on Friday pledged to protect 90,000 acres of his Colorado ranch from further development as part of a much larger planned conservation area. The Obama administration said it would be the "largest single conservation easement" ever provided to the federal government.
The easement, which would include tax benefits for New York-based Louis Bacon, provides "the foundation for the proposed new Sangre de Cristo Conservation Area," the Interior Department announced.
Should the conservation area happen, Bacon said Friday, "I will place approximately 90,000 currently unprotected acres of the Blanca portion of Trinchera Ranch into a conservation easement."
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who grew up in the area and announced the deal with Bacon at his side, said the ranch "is in one of the most beautiful places in the country" -- and home to three peaks above 14,000 feet that are in the center of the longest U.S. mountain chain.
Conserving the land will protect the region's water and wildlife, Salazar told reporters. The region is used as a corridor by bison, cougars, black bears, bighorn sheep, elk and deer, and borders the Great Sand Dunes National Park.
The proposed conservation area -- which would be much larger than Bacon's ranch -- "remains largely unchanged and is a place where wildlife can migrate between the high prairies of eastern New Mexico and the high mountain valleys of central Colorado," an Interior team that scouted the area last year reported.
Department of Interior
The circled area of interest represents the 3,000,000 acres studied by the Interior Department for the Sangre de Cristo Conservation Area.
"Maintaining such an open corridor is important for species survival and overall ecosystem health," the team added. "There are few other places in the southwestern United States where such an open and unchanged landscape exists."
Bacon, ranked by Forbes as the 312th richest American with a $1.4 billion estimated net worth, bought the 172,000-acre Trinchera Ranch from the family of billionaire Malcolm Forbes in 2007 for $175 million -- which media reports at the time called the most expensive single property ever sold in the U.S.
The Forbes family had earlier placed more than 80,000 acres of the ranch in a conservation easement.
Easements allow continued ranching and hunting but no construction of significant structures. They also provide tax incentives to property owners.
"The conservation incentives are incredibly efficient ways of conserving land," Greg Yankee, policy director for the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts, told msnbc.com.
Colorado grants a maximum $375,000 tax credit for any easement, he added, and a property owner who meets all the criteria could also list the easement as a federal income tax deduction.
The Interior Department did not immediately respond to a request for how much Bacon could expect.
Billionaire Ted Turner, founder of CNN, owns the largest parcel inside the proposed conservation area -- the 600,000-acre Vermejo Ranch.
Salazar told the Denver Post that while he's had conversations with Turner, there were no specific proposals in the works.
"It'll happen over the next several years," Salazar said of the larger conservation area. "It's important that, as the conservation efforts move forward, that it be done with full cognizance of the need to honor water rights and property rights on the valley floor."
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Leave a Comment:
Republicans won't like it. It's bad to conserve anything. You have to strip, drill it, mine it or beat the hell out it with RTV's or your just UnAmerican. Just ask Palin.
Sheesh...can't you just say thanks to the billionaire and leave politics out of it?
Thank You kindly for your shallow, stereotyping, bigoted, intolerant and tilted commentary.
Dang Kevin99,
Who peed in your mocha late?
Anger much?
Isn't that just like those damn rich people. ;-)
Kevenk (the idiot)...what a troll. You have the same condition Sandusky is claiming today in court - Histrionic personality disorder..Histrionic means "dramatic" or "theatrical." People with the disorder desperately seek the approval of others and behave dramatically or inappropriately to get attention.
Get off the computer before your mom finds out...
One pickle in a jar of turds does not make it a jar of Kosher Dills
He shouldnt have been allowed to own that much land in the first place, nor should anybody. Plus he's a dirty hedge fund manager.
Essentially all he did was obtain a ridiculous amount of land, and pledge not to destroy it. Wow, your such a good person.
Philanthropists are just rich scum who donate an extremely small portion of their time or wealth (but alot of wealth by poor standards). Then they pretty much call attention to themselves to bask in their own perceived sainthood.
It'd be nice if the rich would at least just shut their mouths and screw us over in silence. Only idiots believe that these super-rich clowns do anything out of the goodness of their "heart."
As a Republican and conservative, I applaud this gift! When the deal is done I hope to visit....
A most awesome gift! Kudos to this guy for his generosity.
A good deal, well struck! Kudos to the President and the Billionaire!
Interesting! What will it cost to keep humans out of the land?
It is so Bourgeois to brag of your holdings. Now,take me for example; my mere $300m is so conserved that I am the Conservative Poster Boy of the Conservative Conservation Credulity Council
I'm guessing MtMike doesn't know how to visit and leave no trace. I however live nearby and have camped on the land (almost legally) and would like to revisit. And I promise not to leave a trace of that visit....
Why bring politics in on this? Just say hooray!! for the animals, score one for nature! No matter what he recieves(moot point) this is a priceless jewel for generations to come. Thank you.
Billionaires always get awards and praise because they give monies or donate land for preserves is laughable, they do it for tax breaks and consessions for tax liabilties nothing more !
The rich stay rich by tax loopholes in charity contributions by giving just enough to keep the bulk out of the governments hands. which is legal and more power to them.
so before you think look how much they donate they must be very caring, well they are it's just about there bottom line. give a little to save alot !!!
Whine, bitch and grumble away...guess you all complaining would rather see it developed or sold to a Chinese billionaire. Rockefellers, Morgans, etc. at least give something back. Would you rather the land sold to, oh say, a developer and turned into condos and ski resorts? How's about it being drilled, fracked, or mined? Would that make you feel better?
You'll never catch David or Charles Koch doing something like this. They would rather strip the land of ALL it's wildlife and resources leaving nothing behind but scorched earth. I'm sure their sickened by the very thought of giving anything to an entity they hate and are working so hard to destroy, the "Government of the People".... Or as they like to call it the "Government of the Peasants".
Meanwhile, back on the Ponderosa, S Hitting TF....But this is great news, which benefits no one, is just great.
Big Al....liberals like you tend to exaggerate and generalize so much that no one takes you seriously. Your hatred and jealously of the rich and successful is simply astounding.
kevenk99 - The guy who donated the land is a Republican.
Actually, he's just set himself up with a fancy and exclusive hunting lodge with the assistance and contribution of taxpayer's money (tax breaks).
Things aren't always as selfless and generous as they appear to be.
I don't mean to bring politics into it, but this is obvious pandering by the president to get the tree-hugger vote. Also, God gave us dominion over the land (Philistine chapter 23 verse 10) and it's our duty to suck the valuable juices out of it so we can get the price of gas back under two dollars like we had before the president took over control of all the oil companies. And finally, God gave us dominion over the animals (Philistine chapter 18 verse 3) so if the bison and other useless non-edible carcasses are laying on the prairie rotting, I guess they should have been more intelligent and maybe God would have put them at the top of the food chain instead of us.
Wow- so there IS a republican out there who cares about the land and wildlife. Well, thank God for that! I can only hope more will follow in his lead.
HA HA 2nd sentence "OBAMA ADMINISTRATION"???!!!! Like they had anything to do with it.
@jrt077
Yeah, this "dirty hedge fund manager" will do more good with this one act than you EVER will in your entire life. So rather than say thank you for doing what I can't, why don't you bitch and whine about it instead.
Awww, poor baby. Do you feel all better about yourself now? Does it ease the reality of your insignificance?
This is some beautiful country that will be protected from man destroying it. Don't really care if the guy is just doing for tax breaks, for his own personal playground....whatever reason, I say good. Grew up in Colorado and we need land that isn't destroyed by drilling, mining, housing developments etc.. For the commentors who could care less about preserving lands for wild animals you seriously need to rethink that attitude. Man is alledgedly the "top of the food chain"??? Well, man can't stay there with out every form of life that it is out there from a bison to a bee, from mountain top to valley dwellers they are all part of the eco system that keeps the planet alive. Humans seriously need to start thinking more about conserving all of our resources even if your part is making your best effort to recycle all the trash you can, wash your car less, don't litter etc.. all the little things at least help. Man has very few natural enemies, (unless you live in certain violent area's of the country) and we all need to start realizing we WILL OVERPOPULATE EARTH and someday food, water, etc. wil be in very short supply. Think about this when your planning a family or think abouat NOT going out and getting pregnant or impregnating somebody just because you can. We all need to take a little more personal responsibility forthe world we live in.
But human beings don't destroy anything; they make everything better.
To be honest by doing this he will get both the use of the land and keep it as a nice natural place, this will change nothing in how he looks at this since he bought it as a ranch. However he will vastly cut his taxes--best of both, he still controls it to use as he has always chosen to use it, but no longer will have to pay the taxes on it.
Now if it included deeding it to the people of the US upon his death, that would be something.
I have nothing against the wealthy myself (Being a 1%er as they say), but I know what this really is. A tax avoidance plan. It is why I have made a gift of some of my art collection to a museum, they get to exhibit them on occasion and I have them in my home until I die. (I have more art than I can display so no sweat that they exhibit some of them) But I get a tax deduction now as well as some nice perks from the museum as far as receptions, invites to all openings and galas. This land thing is really the same animal, just land instead of art.
I also have donated a tract of land I own to a University for preservation and a fresh water bio research and teaching facility (with stung restrictive covenants). But I did carve out a nice parcel in the middle of it where I am building a vacation compound...now I no longer pay taxes on the surrounding land, and it stays wilderness which is what I want and I had a huge tax deduction for the donation.
Lets just hope lighting doesn't strike twice.. ; ]
Cheers
kevenk99
I wouldn't say the Republican, I believe the government in general will not like it. But they (the government) will find a way to use eminent domain somehow.
Like it or not, billionares are a political football or for some, the owner of the team this year. It is great to see one of these rich folks giving something back to this country, instead of dropping their millions into some politician's coffers.
you can say whatever you want trust me...."nothing is protected!!!!"....in time they will take it!!!
To Bill T who said he hopes to visit this property when the deal is done: I do not think you or I or anyone else is invited. Setting this property up as a conservation deal does not mean that it is open to public use. Further, at the risk of sounding even more skeptical, I bet that this fellow's lawyers have lots of ways of getting this property out of its "conservation" status. As soon as its worth more than the tax breaks, it will become Sangre de Cristo Vistas - An Exclusive Residential Area for Those Who Appreciate the Best.
@BigAl,
You did real good until the GOP comment as that part was just plain nonsense. Not all Republicans are like that. The Moderates and mildly Right can and would like to work with moderate and mildly left Democrats. Its just so hard to find enough of both these days in office. Just like not all of the democrats want Gov. to control our lives and have everything for free (Cheese Please).
@franklytrue,
I can easily live with what you just described. No reasonable person should complain as your description is a great example of a Win Win situation. Everyone benefits which is the by-product of a good deal.
It looks like Mr. Bacon discovered Heaven(I always wondered what it looked like) and is willing to share a little and get a little.
Cap'nJim---Your right about the public access there will be none. He will still own it and he can sell it. In fact it states that he bought 172,000 acres with 80,000 acres already in conservation easement. He isn't giving anything away, he wanted a big ranch to hunt and fish and play on and he still has that. Now he won't have to pay taxes on it. I'm not saying this is bad,it's good to conserve wild lands. But lets not pretend that this guy is being generous. He is the main beneficiary of this deal. The rest of us just get some clean water and oxygen.
I hope he puts a rider in like was done in NY for Bear Mountain & Harriman State Park that no building is allowed without approval of the family and any attempt to sell any of the land will result in the land ownership returning to the family.
Looks like Mr Bacon found a way to secure his investment and gain government assistance for protecting his little slice of heaven, he still gets to use the land himself and doesn't have to pay taxes, the tax payers will foot the bill to police the land, he will get additional tax credits, so he will be making money on it while the public will be loosing tax revenue and paying fish and game and the forest service to manage it, all this and we will have limited access to this land, he wins on all counts, smart man.
@D Buck-2239568
All he gets are tax breaks which amount to a pittance compared to what he'd get if he developed the land. He still has 100% of the responsibility for managing and policing the land, the government isn't required to chip in one red cent for such things.
What is with you people who automatically assume anyone with money must be some greedy SOB looking to game the system?
Damn 1%ers donating land, donating 95% of Charities' funds (which is the reason why they pay a lower tax rate), will there never be a stop to their evil ways.
Wally.....your post about generalizing and exaggerating by liberals (while doing the exact same thing) gave me a laugh out loud moment....thanks.
I'd like to get my hands on a copy of the map they used for the location picture. I had no idea there was a "Southern shortgrass prarie" in New Mexico, and I live there.
As a republican I love my country and want to see its beauty preserved for my children and all those to come. Every one I know feels this way as well. I can only say I'm grateful there are people who will share their bounty. As for the Kevink99's of the world, his fellow haters and class envy freaks, I am also grateful to be nothing like them.
Kevink, George Bush, everyone's favorite republican to hate and ridicule, designated the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands the United States’ 75th national monument. This is an area that is larger than 46 of the 50 states and is more than seven times larger than all of the other marine sanctuaries combined. No tax breaks here.
Maybe nest time you will do a little research before you start flapping your gums.
Replying to Zuksam - a conservation easement runs with the land - means it is forever. He can sell the land, or his heirs will inherit it, but it is still in a conservation easement. This arrangement is not costing the tax payers anything. He still pays taxes on the property, but at a lower rate, as there is no development value to the property. He has been extremely generous to future generations.
But that's a perfect spot for a mall!!!!
KeyOrion
What does the fact that this man owned 90,000 acres have to do with unemployment? You are a total TOOL! What have YOU done for America lately? I would venture to say NOT A FUKING THING! How are you going to promote the welfare of the people?
"Hell i'll give the government a promise to protect this 90,000 acre arrea against my own land use, and in return i'll get a tax break, and a promise from the government not to press federal charges for my abuse of the banking hedge-fund system."
Millions out of work, and this guy is holding in reserve 90,00 acre's from land use. Let me think about that for a moment. Is this going to help people get jobs, promote the welfare of the people, or provide for the hungry or homeless. No, no it's not.
Would you rather he kept it to himself and didn't allow anyone else on his property?
He has no obligation to help anyone.
Whatever one's place in life, there is always someone more unfortunate just around the corner. I don't see millions of people helping the homeless or volunteering at homeless shelters....
When was the last time you went and helped cook or wash bedsheets?
You probably boo at funerals. I'm so glad I'm not you, someone who doesn't see anything good in anything.
KeyOrion
Millions out of work, and this guy is holding in reserve 90,00 acre's from land use. Let me think about that for a moment. Is this going to help people get jobs, promote the welfare of the people, or provide for the hungry or homeless. No, no it's not.
he's a billionaire. Even if he only employs just a hand full around him, he's most likely doing way more than you for the economy. How many jobs have you created or how many salaries do you pay? Shoot, just him paying a servant or maid a yearly salary out of his own pocket is more than what most can do.
KeyOrion - You'd probably be happier if he opened the land for drilling and strip mining, right? I thank him and thank him again and I wish there were more people like him.
@Wexy
Actually the fact that he is a billionaire and doesnt employ a significant amount of people means he is a huge drain on the economy, since he saves way more than he spends. Being rich means withholding an obscene amount of wealth from the economy, and the money concentrates up. Saving money doesnt help the economy, so saving billions definately doesnt.
@kimH-1330542
Actually yeah, drilling or strip mining would provide jobs for alot of people, funny how people care more about trees than other people.
And you wish there were more uber-rich billionaires who own tons of land? I believe thats how serfs and vassals work in the dark ages. They own all the land, you own......none.
JR...you are dumber than a stump aren't you. Take a course in economics, then get back on this thread and post a comment.
Yup.
Billionaires don't 'do anything' for the economy, as in they pay value for services rendered. There's some sort of weird idea that billionaires are just slavering at the bit to throw money at us if only we would give them more tax breaks. This doesn't happen now and never will. Companies and billionaires hire people when they need someone to do the work. It is not the job of such to create jobs or do anything for the economy. This is the job of government: to create an environment in which corporations hire people, and been sorely lacking because of an ineffectual Congress.
@KeyOrion
Why don't you think about this for a moment, why the hell would you expect anyone to do anything for you? You bitch and whine and demonize these guys even when they do something for us all. Then you expect them to do even more. Well guess what genius, when you take a dump on someone you shouldn't expect much in the way of gratitude from them.
@jrto77
If we don't protect the land we live on we won't have anything left to live on. Think about the long term implications
Economics is man-made bs; no laws of nature there. Economics in a nutshell: screw your customer and pass your costs off to society.
@Fossil Fool
Gee, aren't you just a ray of sunshine. Hate to break it to you Fossil FOOL but the system you bitch about has given you the ability to share your ranting and raving with the rest of us. Oh aren't we the lucky ones.
i look around and seee thats im not in russha or china. yup still in usa. so yes that is part of are freedom if it is for sale
you have the money then you can buy it. that is one of the things that make up amerca
Would you have rather he donated it to Section 8 ? cut up the 90,000 into half acr. lots and built homes for the poor. This would have created jobs, provided housing for 180,000. and given them all a nice few to look at while sitting in the back yard waiting for the first of the month.
JR:
Actually the fact that he is a billionaire and doesnt employ a significant amount of people means he is a huge drain on the economy,
Can you cite where you found information on how many people he employs? Why would he be a drain on the economy if he didn't employ anyone? I'm not going to dig for facts on this billionaire, but it's typical of a super wealthy person to employ dozens of people. Example: MC hammer once employed 200 people. In one of my early careers I did annual home inspections for the wealthy, one live-in maid told me that if she would be homeless if it weren't for Mr. and Mrs. Block. That's doing more than you.
since he saves way more than he spends. Being rich means withholding an obscene amount of wealth from the economy, and the money concentrates up. Saving money doesnt help the economy, so saving billions definately doesnt.
Again. Where did you find out how much money he spends annually?
Byron Raum
Billionaires don't 'do anything' for the economy, as in they pay value for services rendered. There's some sort of weird idea that billionaires are just slavering at the bit to throw money at us if only we would give them more tax breaks. This doesn't happen now and never will. Companies and billionaires hire people when they need someone to do the work. It is not the job of such to create jobs or do anything for the economy. This is the job of government: to create an environment in which corporations hire people, and been sorely lacking because of an ineffectual Congress.
Bill Gates: Donates 750mil to fight Aids, TB, and malaria (Could go on and on with his other contributions.
George Lucas: Donated 180mil to his Alma Mater.
Warren Buffett: Contributed 30 billion to the Gates foundation, the largest ever.
Larry Ellison: Owns hotels and resorts. He spent 180mil buying property in Mailbu. How many employees in that venture alone do you think he has?
Wexy love your thoughts.
Read the Communist Manifesto for fun each day do you?
Lord, some people
I think that this is great news! Tremendous wealth being used in a wonderful way.
Yep - I agree!
Such actions weaken the perception of rich people.
Sounds good to me. Just because you are wealthy, doesn't mean you are evil. Sometimes these guys do things that are good for all of us...I say good for him.
Yes, it's easy to get masses of people to hate, demonize, vilify and call for the pillaging of the "rich" for the benefit of then"have nots"
Some of the "haves" or "1%" don't do anything to help anyone but themselves, that still does not make them "evil" No one is obliged to give anything to help anyone, other than pay one's taxes.
Sp many "have nots" proclaim how they would be a Saint, a Neo-Robin Hood if they got rich... However, as they became more successful even they, somehow morphed into a resident of the "greedy" abhorred demographic they used to blame and point fingers at.
lol he didnt do anything special at all, and you act like he just saved the economy or something.
He is a philanthropist, a rich person who gives a little bit of their wealth (which is huge by poor standards), and then call attention to themselves so people can talk about how good they are.
This is what he did.......are you ready?
He used an obscene amount of wealth he shouldnt have had, to buy more land than anyone should be able to have, then he decided not to destroy it. He also decided not to turn it into a profitable mining/logging or anything else type of business which would employ people in a tough time.)
Despite what people think, there is a such ting as too much wealth, and it can (and is) being concentrated into too few hands.
I dont know what too much is, but people who buy cars worth 10 times more than peoples homes make me sick.
So, I think you would enjoy Cuba. Lots of wealth redistribution happening there, everybody except for the political elite are equally poor. Envy much?
JR...who are you to say how much money and property a person should have? It's not the fault of the rich and well to do that you are such a miserable and pathetic failure in life.
@mygirl1
We should work out a trade with Cuba, We'll send them all of the people like jrt077 who believe government should decide what you can have, how much of it, and what you can do with it and in return we'll get a Cuban who wants to be free to make his own decisions and live his or her life how they choose.
Seems like a win-win to me, we get rid of the trash bringing us down and Castro gets the puppets he desires.
Why do you think this person should not have spent what ever amount he liked on property?? It's his money, not yours and anyone elses but his.. What would you like him to do?? Spread all his money around to the entire country, starting with YOU???? Just jealous that he's a have and your a have not. You can't legisalte what people do with their own money beyond paying taxes. Get over it and go do something to improve your OWN financial situation without expecting a handout from people that have more than you!!!
Could one person own all the money? Of course not, because then it would cease to be money. But that won't stop the scumbag control freaks from trying.
Gee, what a coincidence: A "gift" to many enlistment-age immigrants, with the added advantage that they represent a large minority voting block. The last time I heard of such a generous gift was when the Don't Ask, Don't tell rule was ditched, followed by an announcement a day or two later that ROTC recruiters were now welcome on some campuses that previously barred them because of their anti-gay policies. Oh, and then of course there was the the declaration that Mr. Obama supports same-sex marriage, but of course, he thinks it's up to the states to decide; which is just about identical to the Republican position. And, oh gee, I almost forgot, he supported reproductive rights for women until he spoke at Notre Dame when he decided that there was room for compormise.
What does your nonsense post have to do with this article?
Daniel, did you go off your meds again?
You do realize that THEY CAN'T VOTE BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT CITIZENS?
Wrong article Daniel.
I believe just a big Thank You to the person would say it all.
I've camped in those mountains, and this is truely fantastic! Beautiful country, tad bit on the dry side, so maybe we'll reduce some of the fires, though, lightning is always a risk. Do hope that they keep control on all of the underbrush.
Do love it and deeply appreciate it, when people do good things.
Yea and what's the catch? Maybe billionaires can buy up the charred federal land from the fires burning right now and how again were those fires started? Is this a bait and switch?
Those lands will be productive sooner than later, it's not as if they haven't burned before.
Rex, I'm confused; help me out here, please.
Are you saying Mr. Bacon *set* those fires on federal lands, and now he's giving up an easement on *this* land, and next he's going to use the tax savings from *this* situation to buy those *really, really burned* lands at a discount? Wow, that's a terrific business plan - no wonder he's a billionaire!
ThatRocks: Of course Mr. Bacon set those fires, what better way to buy federal land at firesale prices. He probably collaborated with Ted Turner and Robert Redford, those zany guys will do anything to get land cheap.
No, it was lightning that started the fires
What are you a conspriacy theory enthusiast??? Anything to support that or just ranting?? Fire is a natural way for nature to revitalize the earth and has to happen now and then. Yes, sometimes people do set fires for financial gain or just because they are pyro's and that sucks!!!! Those people should be jailed. But that really doesn't have anything to do with this story so maybe you should jsut mov eon?!?!?
Mygirl well I heard bigfoot set them with Elvis help. They plotted it on the grassy knoll just outside of Roswell.
Or am I really just ridiculing your unsubstantiated idiocy?
Well at last some news to be happy about for a change. Right On. Thank you Mr Bacon, thank you Mr President.
Thank-you Mr. Bacon. Enough said.
a generous person indeed..
Get it in writing, these so called pledges, have a way for Congress and Developers to weasel out of, as history informs. But since he acquired his wealth at the expense of your retirement account, it is Robber Hood.
YAY!!! And.....Thank you, Mr. Bacon.
Gee. Sounds like a great place to run a shale oil pipeline!
It is nice to see that there are some billionaires who believe that doing something that will benefit the entire country is the right thing to do. That puts him in rare company.
If no one's wanted to build anything there yet, it sounds like a tax loop-hole to me.
I'm not saying thank you, why he or any one person should own 90,000 acres is absurd. There is a reason why this country was founded by people fleeing Europe...
... oh yeah all of the land was owned by a handful of people.
Instead of being all bitter at your little pity party, why not get off your duff and go figure out how to earn billions for yourself? This is America, it happens all the time. But you have to make it happen for you, no one's going to hand it to you.
Yeah, be sure to tell that to Ted Turner, Robert Redford and all those other rich liberals.
I believe Ted Turner is the largest private landowner in the U.S. he owns land all over the country. He owns approx. 2 million acres.
This is how high tech criminals assuage their guilt. I favor the commitment and appreciate the effort but there is now way one man can amass that kind of wealth without taking it from someone else.
bitter much ?
Seriously, bitter people are wearing me out today!
Nah, just sour grapes from those who want to see that 'wealth redistribution' happening, can't abide the concept of wealth, everyone should live in government housing and wear state supplied shoes and eat state supplied food.
Geez, what is the deal with people that think the rich should have their money taken from them and spread to the poor and middle income?? Why can't these people go out and get what they need for themselves??? IF every person in the country were wealthy beyond a need to work the whole place would fall apart. We need people of all economic status and work skills. Somebody had to deliver the mail, haul the goods to the store, sell the food in the grocery store etc.. etc.. Yes, the wealthy could do one hell of alot to help the needy in this world!!! Do they have to? No. BEsides the fact that it's the people complaining that help a lot of the wealthy get that way. Do athletes REALLY need millions a year to play a game?? Do actors, singers etc.. REALLY do anything that is VITAL to anybodies life? NO. But this is how the American public spends their money and makes these people rich. Think about it before you bitch any more about how the wealthy spend money!!!
Very nice of this guy to donate this beautiful land to the American public.
Too bad the Republicans are already making plans to strip mine it and "spill baby, spill".
So short sighted.
The land wasn't donated to anyone. An easement was simply placed upon it. Easements can stipulate all sorts of things. As an example, your property might have a power line running though it. This power line would have an easement associated with it that gives the power company the right to construct, maintain, and access the power line for their purposes. Easements do not transfer ownership of land. They only put restrictions on certain parts of the land.
In respect to this article, the easement established was a conservation easement, which according to the article limits development on the land. Depending on the wording of the actual easement, it may or may not give the public the right to access the land (since it is still private property). So basically, it is just a big chunk of land that will sit in its natural state in perpetuity, until such time that both parties (the land owner, the 'grantor', and the federal government, the 'grantee') to the easement decide to dissolve it.
Excellent - thanks - !
And thanks to Ryan 2622538 for his explanation of a conservation easement. This means that future generations will be able to experience the wilderness of the American west in its natural state -
Actually the easement can be changed or modified, so there is no guarantee of anything. Just a nice tax break for Mr. Bacon. If the document were made public I wonder if Mr. Bacon still has the mineral rights on the land. He still owns it just doesn't have to pay taxes on it now. Hmm I think I'll ask to create a conservation easement on my 3 acre lot and see how that goes. Worth a shot anyway.
The article said hunting was going to be allowed. I wonder if it is going to be open to the public for free or are they going to have to pay to hunt like Ted Turner's hunting preserves. I hope it will be open for free as it is getting harder & harder to find public hunting land. In GA it runs around $18 an acre to lease hunting rights on private property, that adds up in a hurry to a few thousand dollars.
90,000 acres of protected Colorado... splendid idea!
There is already an operating coal operation on Ted Turner's area. He tried to get it closed but could not because the selling owner would not relent. At least these two guys are interested in preserving the wilderness.
This is something wealthy people did all the time. They donated land to the public good, or common wealth. People are just freaking out because today's rich rarely give in this way. Good on this billionare.
In these days of distrust, an occasional act American exceptionalism surfaces and makes me proud to know that there are still those among us that should make all Americans proud.
He can't take it with him when he dies, so might as well put it into the earth, rather than into some other greedy tyrants hands.
This guy supports Mitt Romney for President.
AND? That does not diminish his act
So what???
If he supported Obama would that make any difference in what he did? Really? Kinda sad to throw politics into this.