The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine has granted real estate tax exemption to 11 parcels of property owned and operated by the Francis Small Heritage Trust as “conserved wildlife habitat” that are open to the public throughout the year for recreational and educational activities. The Court cited affirmatively to a recent similar decision by the highest court in Massachusetts involving forest conservation land ( See Nonprofit Issues ® , Tax Matters, 6/1/14 ) and distinguished a 1965 of its own that denied exemption in part because protecting animals was not considered a public benefit for people. The Court said that having reduced assessments under several land preservation laws did not...