Hey
@Ben Lamb or anyone else - mind giving us all a primer (or linking to one) on how an organization like RMEF goes about land acquisitions? I’m fuzzy on the details, but believe that they work on behalf of public agencies and are beholden to the appraised values mentioned in the op-ed under discussion. Don’t believe I’ve ever seen the process concisely explained.
Here's the very abbreviated version for how most of them get completed, with some being far more complex.
Land Project Managers who work for RMEF (LPMs) in the many different regions are to build relationships with landowners who are interested in keeping lands undeveloped. The hope is that relationship has built enough trust that when the landowner has an event that involves a sale RMEF will be considered as an option.
Assuming RMEF is given an opportunity, they must do a ton of due diligence around appraisals and Fair Market Value, ability to get the project done in the time window the seller has, wildlife score, ease/difficulty for the successor agency (Fed or State) to manage the land, how much funding RMEF will have to risk as earnest money to lock in their option for purchase, and how the property will score under LWCF if LWCF is the intended source of money to close the deal and turn over to USFS/BLM/USFS/State agency.
RMEF usually risks the upfront money. It is possible that it won't be refunded if the deal can't get closed in the time agreed upon. Thus, they need to structure that carefully and have comfort they can likely get the deal done. This requires a lot of talented people to get these huge projects done with the final takeout being the complicated process of LWCF funding.
Once it is underway, RMEF must get the local (County Commissioners) and state (Wildlife Agency) on board. If they are not on board, the Congressional delegation from that State can easily kill the project when it comes to the agency's request for LWCF funds. Very seldom will a State delegation override a County Commission, as they did on the last phase of the Tenderfoot project in Montana.
The appraisal can be a deal killer. BLM/DOI appraisal rules are pretty strict about methodology that can be used, mostly related to cash flow streams from grazing. That results in some really low appraisals that don't reflect the amenities values that Wall Street billionaires will pay for. Thus, some projects fall apart at the appraisal process. A non-profit cannot pay over appraised value, due to the "private inurement" tax code rules imposed on non-profits. They can go get a different appraisal other than the BLM appraisal, but that usually means they have to fund the purchase with their own money, as projects funded with LWCF are limited to appraised value by the requesting agency. We lost a MT ranch due to the weird BLM/DOI appraisal restrictions. It got valued as if no elk lived there, yet the elk did live there and added a ton of market value that wasn't reflected in a cash flow appraisal methodology required by the BLM.
Assuming it gets appraised at a high enough level, it then enters the LWCF scoring system. A host of criteria are used to determine a ranking order for all submitted projects. Those projects get funded in that ranking order, so long as the Congressional delegation of that state doesn't upset the transaction.
Once approved and funds are allocated from LWCF, the land is purchased from the owner, immediately being transferred to a Federal or State agency to be managed as public land. A non-profit merely acts as the intermediary to arrange and complete the transaction, holding title for a day, if at all. Usually (not always) the non-profit or land trust, such as a group like RMEF, gets reimbursed for most of the money they invested as earnest money to hold the property under the buy-sell agreement.
From that point on, it becomes public land managed under the guidelines of whatever agency ends up as the owner. Appraisals usually determine what can/can't get done. Current Federal appraisal rules are not reflective of the amenity values that are driving land prices in the west, so it is getting harder and harder to find properties that will qualify. Sometimes that owner makes a donation via a "bargain purchase," whereby they sell to the non-profit at a less than market value. Those sellers are the true gems who seldom get the recognition they deserve.
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