There are many benefits of having wildlife on your South Carolina land. However, there are times when certain landowners will see wildlife as a liability or an obstacle to achieving economic efficiency on their land, specifically farm owners. Wildlife can compete with livestock, possibly damage crops, and provide other challenges for a farm owner. However, the advantages of wildlife on land is usually more advantageous than not.
There are several ways of making wildlife on vacant land positive economically. For starters, conservation easements can be an excellent incentive for providing wildlife habitat. Conservation easements are land preservation agreements between landowners and the government that restrict development and certain activities on the piece of land. The landowner gives up development rights on the property, but continues to own the land and usually will receive state and federal tax advantages and sometimes payments from the government. Most conservation easement payments are based on the value of the land as wildlife habitat or the value of the land to be developed in the future.
Another way to provide substantial cash flow to a hunting land owner is to lease their land out for hunts. It is important to manage the hunters you lease to ensure they adhere to, as well as contribute to, your land management goals.
Land owners can also generate income from their hunting land by leasing it to wildlife photographers, bird watchers, big game watchers and many others. The advantages of having wildlife on your land usually outweigh the disadvantages, but there are many ways to counter possible negative impacts. Wildlife on your land is a very marketable asset for sellers.
