Forested land under the ax from tax policy

At times, public policy-making focuses too narrowly on an issue, failing to connect the dots and recognize the full range of relationships and solutions embodied in a matter. Georgia's current attempt at crafting a plan to protect our water supply and water quality is a good example.

The steps called for in Georgia's proposed statewide water management plan are good and necessary. For example, regional water planning efforts, the creation of new reservoirs, water conservation — who could argue that these should not be priority components of a water management plan for our state?

Steve McWilliams is vice president of the Georgia Forestry Association.

Absent from the discussion, however, is an opportunity that perhaps offers the most logical approach of all — protection of the only land use that quietly, but effectively, supports good water supply and quality. I'm referring to Georgia's 24 million acres of privately owned forests. No other land use protects water like our forests do. And for this valuable service, these forests charge us not one red cent.

Forested watersheds not only contribute to higher levels of water quality and supply than other land uses, but many nonforest uses of land —major developments, for example — actually can add to the pollutants entering our water sources. Forests reduce the amount of treatment that would otherwise be necessary if trees were replaced by development or other land use types. For example, by controlling erosion, forests filter rainfall and thus reduce the amount of pollution in our streams that must be removed or treated. Cleaning our water naturally makes far greater economic sense than having to build and maintain the water treatment plants that cost millions of dollars and add to an already painful tax burden.

Despite the many environmental benefits provided to us free of charge by our forests, Georgia stubbornly clings to an archaic tax policy that is killing our forests and fragmenting our rural land. Ultimately, this policy conflict poses a threat to forests and the environmental benefits they provide to society, water security included.

Georgia's property tax system is like an ax being put to every tree in Georgia. Large, nonfragmented tracts of timberland will soon be a thing of the past. Unlike every other Southeastern state, Georgia allows property taxes on timberland to rise to what is essentially a "highest and best use" level rather than taxing the resource based on its actual use. These same forests use scant local services that are funded via the property taxes levied on them. Nevertheless, they just keep on giving, at no charge to us — clean water, pure air, wildlife diversity and recreation, not to mention tens of thousands of home-grown Georgia jobs.

The bottom line is this: If we do not soon bring a measure of sanity to the rapidly escalating property taxes on forestland, Georgia's water management policy will continue to resemble someone using a sieve to bail water from a sinking ship. While the right hand is forcing water conservation measures, funding and building reservoirs and holding hundreds of local planning meetings, the left hand will be taxing forestland out of existence.

When forest owners are unable to pay high taxes on land that returns little income year after year while trees are growing to maturity, they begin to look for, or they are forced into, permanently converting the land to nonforest uses. Without relief soon, many landowners in the next several years will decide to sell out, and thousands of forested acres will be lost along with the many benefits we take for granted today.

Conserving our forests through sound tax policy is not the total solution to our water management challenges. But let's not bury our collective head in the sand and ignore the opportunity we have to act now for future generations of Georgians.