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Doug Gamble and Nina Gregg have been advocates for the preservation of open space and agricultural lands in Blount County for years. Now, they are applying those same principles to their private lives.

The married couple has granted the Foothills Land Conservancy a conservation easement on their slightly more than 82-acre farm on Sevierville Road. The easement was finalized on Dec. 10, which happens to be Doug's birthday.

"We think it is important for people to do whatever they can personally to reflect their public policy positions," Gamble said. "The farm we own has been in my family for more than 100 years. We have decided to give the development rights to the farm to the Foothills Land Conservancy because we want the property to remain undeveloped and forever available for the production of food and protection of water for local use."

A conservation easement is a transfer of usage rights that restricts development on a property. The conservancy is working to secure 25,0000 acres in time for its 25th anniversary celebration in 2010.

"Our farm borders two other historical farms but also borders residential development on what were farms five years ago," Gregg said. "We want to protect the wildlife habitat for turkeys, deer, hawks and herons."

"We were awarded the Blount County Soil Conservation District's Conservation Cooperator Award in 2000 for taking measures to fence cattle out of the creek," Gamble said. "We want to make sure the steps we have taken to protect the two springs and creek that feed the Little River remain intact.

"None of us knows what is going to happen in the future, so we are doing what we can to ensure that Blount County can continue to have agriculture, wildlife and clean water."

Open space issues are important to both Gregg and Gamble. She is on the board of the Citizens Against the Pellissippi Parkway Extension (CAPPE) and he is the secretary of the Raven Society. Gamble also served on the Blount County Growth Management Advisory Committee, which was charged with creating a program to purchase development rights for property to preserve open space.

Conservancy Director Bill Clabough said this easement brings the total acres secured for protection by his organization to about 2,000 for the year.

"It's great," he said. "It's another piece in the puzzle. (Their farm is) right in the middle of a lot of property where people could end up thinking about it and talking to us about it and maybe we could end up with a big old block there, almost an agricultural district."

The conservancy is protecting about 21,000 acres in all. In 2008, it secured easements in locations such as Blount, Cocke and Knox counties. The largest was a 920-acre property in Roane County.

A significant advantage to participating in a conservation easement is qualification for a federal income tax deduction. For income tax purposes, the value of the easement is the difference between the land's value with the easement and its value without the easement.

If a property is worth $500,000 unrestricted, and an easement that precludes further development is placed on it that would drop its value to $200,000, the value of the donation is $300,000.

Under the IRS code, the value of the donation of a qualified conservation easement can be deducted at an amount up to 50 percent of the donor's adjusted gross income in the year of the gift. If the easement's value exceeds 50 percent of the donor's income, the excess can be carried forward and deducted over all or part of the next 15 years, according to the Land Trust of Tennessee.

In order to quality as a charitable donation, an easement must meet federal tax code requirements by providing public benefit by permanently protecting important conservation resources.

An easement does not have to cover all of the property, preclude all use or development, or allow public access. Because an easement lowers a property's fair market value, it can also result in lower property taxes and significantly reduce estate taxes.

It generally takes three to four months for the conservancy to complete the easement process. In 2006, the conservancy preserved 750 acres. In 2005, it was just 50.

For more information about conservation easements in Blount County, please call (865) 681-8326 or visit online at www.foothillsland.org.