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HomeMy WebLinkAbout111222 FW_ Your Forest_ Your Legacy ________________________________ From: NNRG Sent: Saturday, November 12, 2022 6:00:23 AM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: Heidi Eisenhour Subject: Your Forest, Your Legacy ________________________________ ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them. ________________________________ Estate planning for your forest View this email in your browser <https://mailchi.mp/nnrg/wherebeaversandbutterfliesroam-12139235?e=b279c8a19f> <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/2f9525cc-9f28-4eb9-b266-13e8e70da2bd.png> PLANNING THE LEGACY OF YOUR LAND NNRG NEWSLETTER | NOVEMBER 2022 DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE Although my parents had an estate plan in place that included provisions for transferring their forestland to the next generation, it wasn’t until my father passed away in February that we realized how inadequate it was for actually protecting their land assets and passing the land down in the most effective manner. My parents had essentially transferred a will and estate plan that they created in Minnesota, and had a local attorney update them. However, WA State tax law is quite different from MN tax law, and unfortunately some important nuances didn’t get included in that update. Both farms and forestlands are rather unique assets, and it takes some finesse to properly protect and value them when including them in an estate plan and ultimately transferring them to the next generation. Fortunately we were able to retain another attorney, who is also a small woodland owner and specializes in estate planning, and were able to make the necessary changes to my parents' estate plan in time to properly protect our land and ensure it was transferred intact and with the least tax liability. My family has now moved ownership of our three tracts of forestland into two limited liability companies, and there is no longer any risk of having to liquidate timber or sell real estate to cover estate taxes. The conservation legacy that was so important to my parents remains protected. My father can truly rest in peace, my mother can continue to enjoy our family’s land, and my family has a natural endowment that will pay incalculable recreational, ecological, spiritual, and financial dividends for many decades to come. Kirk Hanson Director of Forestry Northwest Natural Resource Group kirk@nnrg.org <mailto:kirk@nnrg.org> <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/500765f0-29a0-5b67-152a-4ad06f267ad6.jpg> NOVEMBER FIRESIDE CHAT: FOREST ESTATE PLANNING WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022 | 7:30-8:30pm November's fireside chat will focus on a few topics around estate planning for forest owners. We will be joined by woodland owner and attorney Cynthia Worth of Worth Law Group, who will cover some of the critical considerations around estate planning for forest owners. Topics include: * Why and when should small woodland owners embark on the estate planning process? * What are some consequences of not having an estate plan in place? * What are some of the tax considerations small woodland owners should be aware of when considering the value of their forest from an estate planning standpoint? * Why should forest owners consider putting their forestland into an LLC, and how does the LLC relate to an estate plan? We will reserve 30 minutes for discussion and Q&A at the end of the chat. Fill out the form here to register for the event and get the Zoom invite. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=3558bc9040&e=b279c8a19f> Fireside chats are monthly community events where forest owners can talk directly with NNRG staff and other forestry professionals, and connect with other forest owners in western Washington and Oregon. EVENTS Forest Stewardship Coached Planning <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=59744bcaad&e=b279c8a19f> Nov 10, 11, 17, 18 | Cle Elum, WA Searching for Climate-Smarter Forestry in Oregon; Accelerating the Transition <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=8fc70009c8&e=b279c8a19f> Nov 15 | Online Figuring in Bigleaf Maple <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=6924ac1abc&e=b279c8a19f> Nov 16 | Poulsbo, WA King County and NNRG Taylor Mountain Forestry Tour <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=5fbe84db27&e=b279c8a19f> Nov 16 | Issaquah, WA *NNRG Event* Scaling for Non-Scalers <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=f175116f74&e=b279c8a19f> Nov 17 | Grand Mound, WA Fireside Chat: Estate Planning for Forest Owners <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=24a17d9ffc&e=b279c8a19f> Nov 30 | Online *NNRG Event* Webinar: Snow for Watersheds <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=b0b16f6d21&e=b279c8a19f> Dec 6 | Online *NNRG Event* Forest Management with Salamanders in Mind <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=a7a9a92d6c&e=b279c8a19f> Dec 6 | Online Carbon Friendly Forestry Conference <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=149ca27dc1&e=b279c8a19f> Dec 7-8 | Online Urban Forest Connections: Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=5e748307a2&e=b279c8a19f> Dec 14 | Online Online Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Course <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=4575b4451a&e=b279c8a19f> Jan 25 - Mar 22 | Online ARTICLES <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/9cbaab90-829c-febe-ea08-adbae8bb24df.jpg> ESTATE PLANNING ADVICE FROM A FAMILY FOREST Planning what happens to your land after you pass on is a critical part of good forest stewardship. Without a plan in place – preferably outlined in a legal document – your vision for your land could collapse amid family dynamics, financial considerations, and disinterested heirs. NNRG interviewed Andy and his daughter Andrea, who steward a 122-acre family forest in Grays Harbor County, to learn about their experiences with estate planning. Andy, who inherited a portion of his parents’ property under somewhat contentious circumstances, warns of the pitfalls of leaving it entirely up to the next generation to decide what happens to the land. Andrea discusses how her family’s recent estate planning process has set a clear guiding path for how she and her siblings will care for the land in the future. Read the story of this family's at times tumultuous estate planning process on the NNRG blog. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=7a6b681cce&e=b279c8a19f> <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/1b16c7d1-0e05-4e8f-b326-b6ff1a42f33e.jpg> NNRG CAN HELP YOU PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OF YOUR FOREST Whether your forestland has been in your family for five years or five generations, your choices can establish a lasting legacy. How you pass it on to the next stewards will affect the health and value of your forest far beyond your lifetime. There are a few different ways NNRG can help you devise a framework to suit your family and your forest: * Working with you and your heirs to develop a management plan that addresses everyone’s interests; * Managing the forest on behalf of a trust or LLC established to provide income to beneficiaries, subject to agreed-upon forest stewardship principles; * Collaborating with a local land trust to look after the forest, with NNRG’s forestry expertise complementing the land trust’s local relationships. * Helping you design a working forest conservation easement to set standards for future forest practices. For instance, you could limit harvest to the volume of timber that the forest grows each decade, or restrict harvest near special places such as shorelines and streams. * Establishing a charitable remainder trust, which will provide beneficiaries with income from the forest’s management for a specific term, after which ownership of the forest will pass to a nonprofit and support its work. As a variation on this option, you can direct the beneficiary income to a donor-advised fund. * Holding the forested land in NNRG’s forest endowment, whose careful and sustainable harvest supports NNRG’s work in perpetuity, while also protecting the forest’s ecological values and using the forest as a case study and showcase of ecological forest practices. Interested in working with us to plan for your land? Contact NNRG’s Executive Director Seth Zuckerman <mailto:%20seth@nnrg.org> or Director of Forestry Kirk Hanson <mailto:%20kirk@nnrg.org> at (206) 971-3709. NEWS <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/592b3173-a244-349f-d6ff-7febacf269cd.png> Life Was Built Around Snow. What Happens When It Vanishes? <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=e9d5f2323e&e=b279c8a19f> The melting of the snowpack in the high Cascades has long been a predictable source of sustenance in the Pacific Northwest. But the old patterns are changing, reports the New York Times. <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/e1acf804-b511-9377-c4bc-bb4c37c4f9bb.png> Iconic Northwest Trees Are in Trouble. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=a9a772c3c4&e=b279c8a19f> The Western red cedar, or Thuja plicata, is the largest tree in the Pacific Northwest. Researchers are rushing to understand what’s causing an emerging dieback of cedars in western Washington. <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/def307cd-c6be-2aeb-08da-c2edaf302c9e.png> Prescribed Burns Are Encouraged. Why Was a Federal Employee Arrested for One? <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=92882668e1&e=b279c8a19f> U.S. Forest Service officials decried the arrest of an employee who was leading prescribed burns in Oregon, where residents accused the agency of reckless burning. <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/f8c5d2e8-930c-72c2-d70a-5ca62a241d32.png> The Forest Overstory Podcast Episode 11: New Assistance Opportunities for Landowners. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=f0296062b6&e=b279c8a19f> Washington DNR's Service Forestry Program supports small forest landowners. Thanks to new legislative funding, this program is dramatically expanding. <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/f217415e-c0ed-4c78-7372-74dde0a156c7.jpg> ‘Just Madness’: Concerned Scientists Lobby to Save Space Station’s Forest-Mapping Laser. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=f79abb9a04&e=b279c8a19f> NASA plan to scrap device would curtail important climate and biodiversity data, researchers say. <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/8c1874ba-4eac-0034-2827-cb850e4803cc.png> Are Trees Talking Underground? For Scientists, It’s in Dispute. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=284cfb250c&e=b279c8a19f> From Ted Lasso to TED Talks, the theory of the “wood-wide web” is everywhere, and some scientists argue that it is overblown and unproven. ESTATE PLANNING RESOURCES FOR FOREST OWNERS Estate Planning for Forest Landowners: What Will Become of Your Timberland? <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=8204947cc8&e=b279c8a19f> A US Forest Service handbooks that provides guidelines and assistance to nonindustrial private forest owners and the legal, tax, financial, insurance, and forestry professionals who serve them on the application of estate planning techniques to forest properties. The book presents a working knowledge of the Federal estate and gift tax law as of September 30, 2008, with particular focus on the unique characteristics of owning timber and forest land. Thinking About the Future of Your Forest: Passing It Onto the Next Owner <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=bcf7723980&e=b279c8a19f> This is a recording of an OSU Forestry Extension Tree School online webinar, presented by Tamara Cushing, Starker Chair of Private and Family Forestry at OSU. This webinar outlines what a successful transfer of your forestland to the next generation or another owner might look like. Ties to the Land: Succession Planning for Rural Landowners <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=c89cc18158&e=b279c8a19f> This guide, published in February 2022, is designed to help you through the succession planning process and provide a succession planning framework — a starting point for conversing about this topic and reference information about the different options available. The workbook divides this large task into manageable sections by describing individual parts of the planning process and providing worksheets that can help document your planning progress. Northwest Woodlands: <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=1b782469af&e=b279c8a19f> Washington Estate Tax <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7f ac24f39af609be946c1056&id=24b9174757&e=b279c8a19f> An article in Northwest Woodlands on Washington's estate taxes and how they apply to forestland, by WSU Extension Forester Andy Perleberg and Attorney John Way. The Oregon Estate Planning Process and the Natural Tax Credit <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=11f7f4c1b4&e=b279c8a19f> Those inheriting natural resource property may be able to claim a credit against the Oregon estate tax if their forest real estate meets the requirements. This article from the Oregon Society of CPAs includes an overview of that credit. Estate and Gift Taxes <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=002b4c3e49&e=b279c8a19f> An article by Dr. Linda Wang, National Timber Tax Specialist at the US Forest Service that provides an overview of the federal and state taxes around inheritance and gifts of land. Understanding tax laws helps minimize the estate taxes and the income taxes of woodland property upon the death of the landowner. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=049472a96b&e=b279c8a19f> <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=93705ebc36&e=b279c8a19f> <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=423bb78981&e=b279c8a19f> <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=8ee4d2a6bf&e=b279c8a19f> Copyright © 2022 Northwest Natural Resource Group, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website, via direct email, or at an NNRG event. Our mailing address is: Northwest Natural Resource Group 2701 1st Ave. Suite 240 Seattle, Wa 98121 Add us to your address book <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/vcard?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=d91eb35ad6> Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/profile?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=d91eb35ad6&e=b279c8a19f&c=cb107d6166> or unsubscribe from this list <https://nnrg.us10.list- manage.com/unsubscribe?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=d91eb35ad6&e=b279c8a19f&c=cb107d6166> . <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/open.php?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=cb107d6166&e=b279c8a19f> the future. Read the story of this family's at times tumultuous estate planning process on the NNRG blog. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=7a6b681cce&e=b279c8a19f> <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/1b16c7d1-0e05-4e8f-b326-b6ff1a42f33e.jpg> NNRG CAN HELP YOU PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OF YOUR FOREST Whether your forestland has been in your family for five years or five generations, your choices can establish a lasting legacy. How you pass it on to the next stewards will affect the health and value of your forest far beyond your lifetime. There are a few different ways NNRG can help you devise a framework to suit your family and your forest: * Working with you and your heirs to develop a management plan that addresses everyone’s interests; * Managing the forest on behalf of a trust or LLC established to provide income to beneficiaries, subject to agreed-upon forest stewardship principles; * Collaborating with a local land trust to look after the forest, with NNRG’s forestry expertise complementing the land trust’s local relationships. * Helping you design a working forest conservation easement to set standards for future forest practices. For instance, you could limit harvest to the volume of timber that the forest grows each decade, or restrict harvest near special places such as shorelines and streams. * Establishing a charitable remainder trust, which will provide beneficiaries with income from the forest’s management for a specific term, after which ownership of the forest will pass to a nonprofit and support its work. As a variation on this option, you can direct the beneficiary income to a donor-advised fund. * Holding the forested land in NNRG’s forest endowment, whose careful and sustainable harvest supports NNRG’s work in perpetuity, while also protecting the forest’s ecological values and using the forest as a case study and showcase of ecological forest practices. Interested in working with us to plan for your land? Contact NNRG’s Executive Director Seth Zuckerman <mailto:%20seth@nnrg.org> or Director of Forestry Kirk Hanson <mailto:%20kirk@nnrg.org> at (206) 971-3709. NEWS <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/592b3173-a244-349f-d6ff-7febacf269cd.png> Life Was Built Around Snow. What Happens When It Vanishes? <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=e9d5f2323e&e=b279c8a19f> The melting of the snowpack in the high Cascades has long been a predictable source of sustenance in the Pacific Northwest. But the old patterns are changing, reports the New York Times. <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/e1acf804-b511-9377-c4bc-bb4c37c4f9bb.png> Iconic Northwest Trees Are in Trouble. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=a9a772c3c4&e=b279c8a19f> The Western red cedar, or Thuja plicata, is the largest tree in the Pacific Northwest. Researchers are rushing to understand what’s causing an emerging dieback of cedars in western Washington. <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/def307cd-c6be-2aeb-08da-c2edaf302c9e.png> Prescribed Burns Are Encouraged. Why Was a Federal Employee Arrested for One? <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=92882668e1&e=b279c8a19f> U.S. Forest Service officials decried the arrest of an employee who was leading prescribed burns in Oregon, where residents accused the agency of reckless burning. <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/f8c5d2e8-930c-72c2-d70a-5ca62a241d32.png> The Forest Overstory Podcast Episode 11: New Assistance Opportunities for Landowners. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=f0296062b6&e=b279c8a19f> Washington DNR's Service Forestry Program supports small forest landowners. Thanks to new legislative funding, this program is dramatically expanding. <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/f217415e-c0ed-4c78-7372-74dde0a156c7.jpg> ‘Just Madness’: Concerned Scientists Lobby to Save Space Station’s Forest-Mapping Laser. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=f79abb9a04&e=b279c8a19f> NASA plan to scrap device would curtail important climate and biodiversity data, researchers say. <https://mcusercontent.com/f7fac24f39af609be946c1056/images/8c1874ba-4eac-0034-2827-cb850e4803cc.png> Are Trees Talking Underground? For Scientists, It’s in Dispute. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=284cfb250c&e=b279c8a19f> From Ted Lasso to TED Talks, the theory of the “wood-wide web” is everywhere, and some scientists argue that it is overblown and unproven. ESTATE PLANNING RESOURCES FOR FOREST OWNERS Estate Planning for Forest Landowners: What Will Become of Your Timberland? <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=8204947cc8&e=b279c8a19f> A US Forest Service handbooks that provides guidelines and assistance to nonindustrial private forest owners and the legal, tax, financial, insurance, and forestry professionals who serve them on the application of estate planning techniques to forest properties. The book presents a working knowledge of the Federal estate and gift tax law as of September 30, 2008, with particular focus on the unique characteristics of owning timber and forest land. Thinking About the Future of Your Forest: Passing It Onto the Next Owner <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=bcf7723980&e=b279c8a19f> This is a recording of an OSU Forestry Extension Tree School online webinar, presented by Tamara Cushing, Starker Chair of Private and Family Forestry at OSU. This webinar outlines what a successful transfer of your forestland to the next generation or another owner might look like. Ties to the Land: Succession Planning for Rural Landowners <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=c89cc18158&e=b279c8a19f> This guide, published in February 2022, is designed to help you through the succession planning process and provide a succession planning framework — a starting point for conversing about this topic and reference information about the different options available. The workbook divides this large task into manageable sections by describing individual parts of the planning process and providing worksheets that can help document your planning progress. Northwest Woodlands: <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=1b782469af&e=b279c8a19f> Washington Estate Tax <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7f ac24f39af609be946c1056&id=24b9174757&e=b279c8a19f> An article in Northwest Woodlands on Washington's estate taxes and how they apply to forestland, by WSU Extension Forester Andy Perleberg and Attorney John Way. The Oregon Estate Planning Process and the Natural Tax Credit <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=11f7f4c1b4&e=b279c8a19f> Those inheriting natural resource property may be able to claim a credit against the Oregon estate tax if their forest real estate meets the requirements. This article from the Oregon Society of CPAs includes an overview of that credit. Estate and Gift Taxes <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=002b4c3e49&e=b279c8a19f> An article by Dr. Linda Wang, National Timber Tax Specialist at the US Forest Service that provides an overview of the federal and state taxes around inheritance and gifts of land. Understanding tax laws helps minimize the estate taxes and the income taxes of woodland property upon the death of the landowner. <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=049472a96b&e=b279c8a19f> <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=93705ebc36&e=b279c8a19f> <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=423bb78981&e=b279c8a19f> <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=8ee4d2a6bf&e=b279c8a19f> Copyright © 2022 Northwest Natural Resource Group, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website, via direct email, or at an NNRG event. Our mailing address is: Northwest Natural Resource Group 2701 1st Ave. Suite 240 Seattle, Wa 98121 Add us to your address book <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/vcard?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=d91eb35ad6> Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/profile?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=d91eb35ad6&e=b279c8a19f&c=cb107d6166> or unsubscribe from this list <https://nnrg.us10.list- manage.com/unsubscribe?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=d91eb35ad6&e=b279c8a19f&c=cb107d6166> . <https://nnrg.us10.list-manage.com/track/open.php?u=f7fac24f39af609be946c1056&id=cb107d6166&e=b279c8a19f>