How You Can Help

Update: July 30, 2014

The House voted on July 17, passing H.R. 4719, "The America Gives More Act," which contains the Conservation Easement Incentive Act. The bill passed by a bipartisan vote of 277-130.This is the first time every member of Congress has gone on record making the easement incentive permanent.

The measure now goes to the Senate, where we have strong support, but will face new challenges in breaking through a legislative logjam.

Making permanent the enhanced tax deduction for conservation easements has been a priority for the Alliance and the land trust community since 2006.  This will be the first time we’ve been able to get a vote on this on the House floor.

Let’s take full advantage of this historic opportunity.

You can reach your senators by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Don't just leave a message at the front desk--as an organization representing hundreds of constituents, you should ask to speak with the staffer who handles tax issues. Make sure they know of any prior relationship your land trust has had with the office and encourage staff to think of you as a resource on conservation issues. Better yet, invite them to come visit next time they're in the district.

Fact Sheets You Can Adapt and Forward

• Fact Sheet on the Easement Incentive

• Dear Colleague letter seeking co-sponsors in the House
• House and Senate coalition letters signed by 65 national organizations

• Issue-specific letters of Support
• Results of the Tax Incentive Impact Survey
• For more outreach tools and templates visit our Grassroots Toolkit.

Talking Points for Seeking Co-sponsors

Even if your senators co-sponsored in previous years, we need to seek their renewed support today:

• Introduce your organization and tell them how important this tax incentive is to conservation work in your community.
• Tell them how the tax incentive helps family farmers, ranchers, and modest-income landowners protect their land. Share specific stories from your area!

• Urge Senators to co-sponsor the Rural Heritage Conservation Extension Act, S. 526, introduced by Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Senators interested in co-sponsoring should send a signed Unanimous Consent request to the Senate floor.

• If they co-sponsored in the 112th Congress, be sure to thank them when asking for their support again.

• Remind Republicans that conservation easements are a cost-effective, voluntary, private-sector alternative to government led conservation efforts and that this incentive makes the tax system fairer for modest-income farmers, ranchers and forest owners.
• If your Rep. is a member of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, be sure to ask for the staff member's email address and forward our letter from more than 30 hunting and fishing organizations.

• Ask for the staffer’s email address and offer to send a fact sheet on the easement incentive.
• Phone calls and in-person visits are best, but you can send a letter if you prefer. View advice and examples.

Talking points for Members of Congress who have already co-sponsored:

• Please call or write your senator or representative right away with a heartfelt thank you for co-sponsoring (and for voting "yes" for H.R. 4719)! View a sample letter.
• Tell them how this incentive allows more landowners to choose conservation in your area. Share specific examples if possible!
• Make sure they know that the incentive expired at the end of 2013 and you're counting on them to find a way to enact this one thing both parties can agree on.
• It’s even more important to thank them publicly! You can use our newsletter article template and sample press release to use to thank them for cosponsoring the bill!  Don’t forget to send them a copy.
• Learn a dozen more ways to say thank you.
• Want an example? View a letter from the Montana Land Association of Land Trusts thanking Senator Tester or read the press release sent by Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy thanking Congressman Schuler.
• Offer to take the Congressperson or their staff on a site visit to see conserved land and meet landowners. Offer to provide any information they need about conservation easements or land conservation efforts in your local area.

Next Steps

These stand-alone bills are important for demonstrating broad bipartisan support, but ultimately our success will likely depend on attaching the easement incentive to another piece of legislation (estate tax, energy bill, etc). Please check our Tax Advocates emails for the latest specific and time sensitive things you can ask your Members of Congress to do.

Your congressional office wants to hear from you, and there couldn't be a more important time to ask them for their help! You can also help by sharing our grassroots tax incentive fact sheet with your partners and individual members, urging them to weigh in with your Congressional delegation.

Questions? Call the Alliance at 202-638-4725 or e-mail policy@lta.org

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