COLORADO 



The Rural Land Manual recommends classi- 

 fication of land by productivity classes. Among 

 these are the following: 



"Class V. Highest grazing land carrying 

 capacity classification. Not suitable for cultiva- 

 tion, but suited for permanent vegetation that 

 may be used for grazing. May be level and sub- 

 ject only to limited erosion. Usually consists 

 of land too wet or stony for cultivation, but 

 produces forage or woodland products. No 

 special restrictions are required. Slope 0-30%. 



"Class VI. Good grazing land carrying ca- 

 pacity classification. Suitable for permanent 

 vegetation for use as grazing or woodland and 

 not suitable for cultivation. Moderately sloping 

 and subject to wind and water erosion. Graz- 

 ing is limited to the carrying capacity, de- 

 ferred grazing to permit spring growth of 

 grass, and rotation of grazing. May require se- 

 vere restrictions to permit recovery of vegeta- 

 tion. Slope 0-35%. 



"Class VII. Fair grazing land carrying 

 capacity classification. Not suitable for cultiva- 

 tion ; requires severe restrictions if used for 

 pasture or woodland, and is steep, rough, 

 eroded, or highly susceptible to erosion. All 



this land must have capacity capability for 

 production of useful vegetation that furnishes 

 woodland products or forage. Slope 17-35%. 



"Class VIII. Waste land is the usual iden- 

 tification. Not suitable for cultivation or for 

 the production of useful, permanent vegetation 

 that may be harvested by grazing or woodland 

 use. Chiefly rough, extremely stony, barren 

 land or permanent swamps and marshes, use- 

 ful for wildlife, recreation, or watershed pro- 

 tection. Slope 0-35%." 



". . . each land class should be designated 

 according to use such as: 



D — Dryland (Farm) 

 G — Grassland 

 Id — Irrigated by Ditch 

 Ip — Irrigated by Pump 

 T— Timberland 

 — Orchards" 

 Assessors' Handbook, Rural Land Man- 

 ual, Sec. 2, pp. 6-8, Colorado Tax 

 Comm., 1965. 

 Detailed discussion of timberland valuation 

 methods, included in an earlier manual, was 

 omitted from the 1965 revision because most 

 timberlands in the State are in Federal owner- 

 ship and thus not subject to ad valorem taxes. 



CONNECTICUT 



"The valuation of timber calls for a special 

 technical knowledge. Where there is consider- 

 able timber or woodland in a town, it is rec- 

 ommended that the assessor contact the county 

 agricultural agent, state extension forester, or 

 some other qualified specialist for assistance. 

 The laws of the State are particularly explicit 

 in their directions on how certain types of 

 woodland are to be valued, assessed, and 

 taxed." (p. 77) 



Handbook for Connecticut Assessors, 



Institute of Public Service, 



University of Connecticut. 



Storrs. 1963. 

 In 1963, legislation was adopted relating to 

 the taxation and preservation of farm, forest, 

 and open space land (Public Act 490 Laws 

 of 1963). Under this provision "forest land" 

 is defined as "any tract or tracts of land aggre- 

 gating twenty-five acres or more in area bear- 

 ing tree growth in such quantity and so spaced 

 as to constitute in the opinion of the State 

 Forester a forest area and maintained in the 



opinion of the State Forester in a state of 

 proper forest conservation". 



An owner of land designated as forest land 

 by the State Forester may apply for its classi- 

 fication as such by filing application with the 

 assessor. The "present true and actual value" 

 of forest land thus classified shall be based 

 upon "its current use without regard to neigh- 

 borhood land use of a more intensive na- 

 ture " 



Proposed values for major land-use cate- 

 gories have been formulated as follows: 



Land Classification 



Value per acre 



Tillable A (shade tobacco and 





nursery) 



$500.00 



Tillable B (binder tobacco, vege- 





tables, and potatoes) 



250.00 



Tillable C (cornland, forage 





crops, tillable pasture) 



125.00 



Orchard 



200.00 



Untillable pasture (permanent 





pasture 



50.00 



Woodland, brushland, sproutland 



25.00 



Waste, swamp and ledge 



10.00 



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