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8 <br /> conservation easements, is willing to accept this Conservation Easement under the terms and <br /> conditions hereinafter described, and are each a "qualified organization" and "eligible donee" <br /> within the meaning of Section 170(h)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations <br /> promulgated thereunder. <br /> C. Grantor and Grantee recognize that the Property has outstanding open space, <br /> agricultural, forestry, water quality, and wildlife values. The Property in its present state has <br /> conservation value because it has not been subject to significant development and because portions <br /> of it provide a"relatively natural habitat"for"fish,wildlife, or plants or similar ecosystem"as that <br /> phrase is used in Section 170(h)(4)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code, and other portions of it <br /> consist of open space, including farmland and forest land, where the preservation of this scenic <br /> land will yield a significant public benefit under clearly delineated governmental policies more <br /> particularly set forth below, as contemplated under Section 170(h)(4)(A)(iii). These conservation <br /> values of the Property are herein collectively referred herein to as the "Conservation Values." <br /> D. The protection of the Property will yield significant public benefits, as evidenced <br /> by: <br /> (1) N.C.G.S. § 139-2 et seq., which provides that "It is hereby declared . . . [that t]he <br /> farm, forest and grazing lands of the State of North Carolina are among the basic assets of <br /> the State and the preservation of these lands is necessary to protect and promote the health, <br /> safety and general welfare of its people . . . . It is hereby declared to be the policy of the <br /> legislature to provide for the conservation of the soil and soil resources of this State . . ."; <br /> (2) N.C.G.S. § 106-583 et seq.,which states, "It is declared to be the policy of the State <br /> of North Carolina to promote the efficient production and utilization of the products of the <br /> soil as essential to the health and welfare of our people and to promote a sound and <br /> prosperous agriculture and rural life as indispensable to the maintenance of maximum <br /> prosperity"; <br /> (3) The Farmland Protection Policy Act, P.L. 97-98, 7 U.S.C. Section 4201, et seq., <br /> whose purpose is "to minimize the extent to which Federal programs contribute to the <br /> unnecessary and irreversible conversion of farmland to nonagricultural uses, and to assure <br /> that Federal programs are administered in a manner that, to the extent practicable, will be <br /> compatible with State, unit of local government, and private programs and policies to <br /> protect farmland"; <br /> (4) The American Farm and Ranch Protection Act, P.L. 105-34, Sec. 508, whose <br /> purpose is "to encourage conservation easements on family farms and ranch lands"; <br /> (5) Article 14 Section 5 of the Constitution of the State of North Carolina which states <br /> "It shall be the policy of this State to conserve and protect its lands and waters for the <br /> benefit of all its citizenry, and to this end it shall be a proper function of the State of North <br /> Carolina and its political subdivisions to acquire and preserve park,recreational,and scenic <br /> areas,to control and limit the pollution of our air and water,to control excessive noise, and <br /> in every other appropriate way to preserve as a part of the common heritage of this State <br /> 2 <br />