FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lisa V. Hancock
215-513-0100 | lhancock@mclt.org
LIMERICK, PA -- Standing against the idyllic backdrop of the Hawthorne Farm in Limerick Township today, local conservation leaders celebrated the preservation of the farm and recognized Representative Jim Gerlach for his leadership on legislation that helps family farmers conserve their lands for future generations.
Don Hawthorne donated a conservation easement on 28 acres of his farm to Montgomery County Lands Trust in order to preserve an active Christmas tree farm, fruit orchard, and blueberry patch prized by the local community. Mr. Hawthorne was able to protect his property thanks to a 2006 tax incentive that has helped thousands of farmers, ranchers and other landowners of modest means to conserve their land. That incentive is scheduled to expire at the end of 2011. Congressmen Jim Gerlach (R-PA) introduced H.R. 1964 last month to make this important tax incentive permanent.To date, this bipartisan bill has 260 co-sponsors representing 48 states. A companion bill (S.339) that has been introduced in the Senate has 14 co-sponsors.
"Knowing that farming will likely continue on this land long after I am gone gives me peace of mind. It really would be wonderful if the federal tax incentive would be made permanent so other farmers who choose to preserve their land can benefit," said landowner Don Hawthorne.
Voluntary conservation agreements, also known as conservation easements, are a popular tool for protecting natural areas, working farms, and ranches and can make it easier for families to leave their land to the next generation. A landowner who grants a conservation easement continues to own and manage his or her land, but restricts its use to protect the property’s significant natural, agricultural, scenic and open space resources, or “conservation values.”
“Without a doubt, the conservation easement tax credit is a tremendously practical option for many landowners and an effective tool for preserving farmland and natural resources that contribute immensely to the quality of life in our communities. Many of my colleagues in Congress seem to understand. That's why at a time when Congress seldom reaches a consensus, this legislation has received overwhelming bipartisan support from 270 members of the U.S. House of Representatives said Congressman Jim Gerlach (PA-6th district). And that's why I am extremely honored to work side-by-side with Montgomery County Lands Trust, Natural Lands Trust, the Brandywine Conservancy and other organizations to permanently extend the conservation easement tax incentive for family farmers, moderate-income property owners and others.”
The enhanced tax incentive applies to a landowner’s federal income tax. It:
“We at Montgomery County Lands Trust believe conservation has broad benefits when we work with our generous partners,” said Dulcie F. Flaharty, Executive Director of Montgomery County Lands Trust. “The preservation of the Hawthorne farm and other landscapes dear to our local communities was made possible due to personal generosity, complemented by the conservation tax incentive. Congressman Gerlach’s leadership on the land conservation caucus has helped produce an outcome that will deepen the impact of the work done by the Trust. Thank you, Congressman for making possible the realization of conservation dreams that were previously out-of-reach for many land owners.”
“Congressman Gerlach deserves significant credit for taking the lead in introducing this legislation to permanently extend the enhanced tax incentive for donating conservation easements,” said Sherri Evans-Stanton, Director of the Brandywine Conservancy’s Environmental Management Center. More than 83,000 acres of critical farmland, natural, cultural and recreational resources have been permanently protected within Gerlach’s congressional district. Many landowners were able to utilize this important conservation tool. When landowners donate conservation easements to preserve their land, they are voluntarily giving up value in what for many is their greatest asset. This bill has the positive effect of returning some of that value to the landowner, and by doing so, encourages more land and natural resource preservation.”
The economic benefits of preserving open space are clearly documented in this region. A recent study commissioned by the GreenSpace Alliance and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission found that open space in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties adds $16.3 billion to the region’s home values, saves more than $130 million in water treatment and flood control costs, and, through recreation at area parks and trails, avoids $1.3 billion in health related costs.
“Preserving open space contributes to our quality of life in countless ways,” noted Molly Morrison, President of Natural Lands Trust. “However, preserved lands are more than just pretty places, they are productive assets that make substantial contributions to our economy. Congressman Gerlach and his colleagues understand that encouraging donations of conservation easements isn’t just good for our environment, it is good for our economy, as well.”
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]]>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Russ Shay
Public Policy Director
202-638-4725, ext. 305 | rshay@lta.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Congressmen Jim Gerlach (R-PA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), with a remarkable 251 original co-sponsors, introduced the Conservation Easement Incentive Act. This bill is critical for the protection of millions of acres of the nation’s agricultural lands and natural areas that support the economies, health and cultural fabric of communities throughout the U.S. It makes permanent an incentive due to expire at the end of this year that allows modest-income landowners to receive significant tax deductions for donating conservation easements that permanently protect important natural or historic resources on their lands.
“The conservation easement tax credit is a tremendously practical way to provide tax relief to property owners while helping preserve natural resources and open spaces that enhance the quality of life in our communities,” Congressman Gerlach said. “As co-chair of the House Land Conservation Caucus, I will continue working with the Land Trust Alliance and other groups to ensure that the conservation easement tax credit continues to be an option available to family farmers, moderate-income property owners and others.”
“Tax incentives can be a powerful tool to help green our economy and protect our natural resources,” said Congressman Thompson. “Conservation easements have been particularly effective, encouraging landowners to conserve millions of acres of farm lands and scenic open spaces. By making this important conservation tool permanent, this bill would help preserve even more land for future generations.”
When donating a conservation easement, landowners maintain ownership and management of their land and can pass the land on to their heirs, but forego their rights to develop the land in the future. Congressmen Gerlach and Thompson expect their bill will make it possible for more families to afford to conserve their land. A survey shows that this incentive boosts the land saved by conservation easements by a third – to over one million acres per year.
The 251 Representatives from 47 states who have signed on as original co-sponsors include the Chairman, Ranking Democrat, and majorities of both parties on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax measures. A broad coalition of sportsmen, outdoors enthusiasts, farmers, ranchers and national conservation groups are working together to make this incentive permanent in the 112th Congress.
Land Trust Alliance President Rand Wentworth praised the work of Congressmen Gerlach and Thompson. “In this era of partisanship and discord, it is encouraging to see these two leaders step up and fight to enact this bill.” He added: “Their efforts to make this important conservation tool permanent are welcomed by the nation’s 1,700 land trusts, their two million supporters, and the countless local communities seeking to protect the clean air and water, scenic landscapes, recreational places, and wildlife habitat that are central to their lives.”
The enhanced tax incentive allows working family farmers, ranchers and forest owners, to deduct up to 100% of their income for as many as 16 years in order to deduct the full value of their generous gift. First passed in 2006 and extended twice, this incentive is set to expire on December 31, 2011. The Conservation Easement Incentive Act will make this valuable conservation tool permanent.
See the list of 251 original co-sponsors here: www.lta.org/easementincentive/cosponsors.
The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation group that works on behalf of the nation’s 1,700 land trusts to save the places people love by strengthening conservation throughout America. The Alliance works to increase the pace and quality of conservation by advocating favorable tax policies and training land trusts in best practices, and working to ensure the permanence of conservation in the face of continuing threats.
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]]>Contact: Russ Shay
Director of Public Policy
202-638-4725, ext. 305 | rshay@lta.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Voluntary conservation of private land received a boost yesterday when President Obama mentioned the work of land trusts in his remarks introducing the landmark America’s Great Outdoors Report at a reception in the East Room of the White House. The collective voice of land trusts was reflected in the report, which proposes to extend the enhanced tax incentive for conservation easement donations beyond 2011, fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and focus a portion of LWCF on innovative projects that support urban parks, community green spaces and large-scale land conservation.
Mr. Obama said that “at a time when America’s open spaces are controlled by a patchwork of groups, from government to land trusts to private citizens, it’s clear that conservation in the 21st century is going to take more than what we can do here in Washington…Meeting the new test of environmental stewardship means finding the best ideas at the grassroots level, it means helping states, communities and nonprofits protect their own resources, and it means figuring out how the federal government can be a better partner in those efforts.”
The report draws inspiration from hundreds of land trust participants at America’s Great Outdoors listening sessions around the country. “I am proud of the nation’s 1,700 land trusts for pioneering the voluntary conservation incentives and locally driven partnerships embraced in this report,” Land Trust Alliance President Rand Wentworth said. “This initiative will significantly reorient federal conservation efforts to emphasize working lands and to embrace local governments and land trusts as effective partners in conserving the places that give meaning to our lives.”
The report’s vision statement describes a future in which “Rural lands—our working farms, ranches and forests—are conserved and restored through local partnerships.” The president’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request makes a down payment on that vision by providing $200 million for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and $900 million for the LWCF, some of which “will be competitively awarded to address priorities and leverage resources for urban parks and public-private conservation projects.”
In communities across America, nonprofit land trusts are working with private landowners to keep farm, ranch and forest lands in productive use, create community parks and open space, protect important fish and wildlife habitat, and conserve our scenic and historic heritage. With the help of more than 100,000 volunteers and 2 million members, land trusts have conserved more than 37 million acres, including more than 12 million acres protected by voluntary conservation agreements with private landowners.
The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation group that works on behalf of America’s 1,700 land trusts to save the places people love by strengthening land conservation throughout America. The Alliance works to increase the pace and quality of conservation by advocating favorable tax policies, training land trusts in best practices and working to ensure the permanence of conservation in the face of continuing threats.
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Download a printable PDF (100KB).
]]>Contact: Russ Shay
Director of Public Policy
202-638-4725, ext. 305 | rshay@lta.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After a year-long lapse that left many important conservation donations in limbo, Congress renewed an enhanced tax incentive for conservation easements that increased private land conservation by a third—to over a million acres a year. The renewed incentive will be in effect through December 31, 2011 and retroactive to January 1, 2010.
Land Trust Alliance President Rand Wentworth gave special credit to the sponsors of legislation to make this incentive permanent, Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA), and Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Eric Cantor (R-VA). “These leaders have worked hard to make sure we can continue the success this incentive has already had, protecting special places and productive working lands in hundreds of communities across the country,” Wentworth said. “The land this incentive helps protect is an investment in clean water, fresh, local food, wildlife habitat, and scenic beauty.”
A broad coalition of sportsmen, outdoors enthusiasts, farmers, ranchers and national conservation groups worked together to renew the incentive and will push to make it permanent in the 112th Congress. Bills to do just that (H.R. 1831 and S. 812) have 274 House and 41 Senate co-sponsors from all 50 states, including majorities of Democrats and Republicans in the House.
By helping modest income landowners deduct the full value of their contributions, this enhanced easement incentive has increased the pace of private, voluntary land conservation by about 250,000 acres a year nationwide, and is especially important now that the latest reports show that America is losing land to development at the rate of 1.5 million acres per year.
The enhanced incentive, which applies to a landowner’s federal income tax:
Read more at: www.lta.org/easementincentive. Landowners interested in conserving their land under this provision should contact a land trust in their community: www.findalandtrust.org.
The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation group that works on behalf of America’s 1,700 land trusts to save the places people love by strengthening conservation throughout America. It works to increase the pace and quality of conservation by advocating favorable tax policies, training land trusts in best practices and working to ensure the permanence of conservation in the face of continuing threats.
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NASHVILLE, TN -- The Obama administration’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative comes to Tennessee Friday August 27 in an effort to develop a conservation agenda for the 21st century. Conservation, recreation and business leaders across Tennessee are calling on citizens to speak-up and help shape the initiative aimed at getting kids outside and safeguarding our natural heritage.
The “listening session” will be held in Nashville on August 27, 10:00am at the Downtown Library. The public is encouraged to attend the sessions and to provide feedback at http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/.
“Our parks, forests, and public lands are what make Tennessee great,” said Kathleen Williams, President of the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation. “This initiative is a tremendous opportunity to address critical issues facing our natural treasures and take meaningful steps to restore and protect them.”
“Connecting people, especially children, to Tennessee’s great outdoors has long been a core goal of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, said Mike Butler, CEO of Tennessee Wildlife Federation. “ As an example, over the past four years the Federation’s Great Outdoors University program has reached over 7,000 economically disadvantaged children by outdoor experiences in Tennessee. We believe that exposing people to the wonders of Tennessee’s natural beauty can and does change lives for the better by improving body, mind and spirit.”
Earlier this month, Tennessee Senators Corker and Alexander introduced the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2010, which could protect nearly 20,000 acres of wilderness in the Cherokee National Forest. The bipartisan, historic legislation was crafted by collaborative civilian and federal partnerships aiming to provide everlasting protection for eastern Tennessee’s land and wildlife.
“The Tennessee Wilderness Act is a model of local partnerships and bipartisan support that embodies all that America’s Great Outdoors has the potential to do,” said William H. Meadows, a native Tennessean and President of The Wilderness Society. “Protecting, connecting and restoring our lands and waters in Tennessee will enable people to enjoy their favorite outdoor activities.”
Full annual funding of at least $900 million for the Land & Water Conservation Fund is essential to preserve critical land and waters, natural, cultural, and historic resources in Tennessee.
“The knitting together of publicly and privately-protected lands is what makes Tennessee’s landscape so unique,” stated Jeanie Nelson, President and Executive Director of The Land Trust for Tennessee. “Adequate funding of tools available to private landowners- such as tax incentives for donated conservation easements and the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program are essential in building a strong network of privately protected lands. The ongoing protection of all types of land- from public recreation lands to our working farms- is critical to the future of our state.”
“Our membership unanimously endorses the full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, as well as adequate protections for our lands and waters.” Stated Sandra K. Goss, Executive Director of Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning. “Tennessee’s natural beauty is largely responsible for tourism, which is one of the biggest industries in the state. The natural treasures of our state must be looked after and treated well so they can sustain us for years to come.”
“Radnor Lake State Natural Area is an example of the needed and successful partnership among state, federal and local entities that come together to create such valued public lands in the midst of urban areas, said Emmie Thomas, director of Friends Of Radnor State Park. “Vision and funding from the LWCF helped to create what is today a 1200 acre haven for over 1,000,000 visitors a year in addition to the 240 species of birds- including the American Bald Eagles seen recently on the lake, and 400 varieties of wildflowers and plants.”
River protection and restoration is a focus in Tennessee and nationwide, because rivers provide fishing, paddling and other recreation for all ages. They connect our communities to parks and other natural treasures, and they give us clean water – the number one environmental concern among Americans.
“The new Harpeth River Blueway is great example of Tennessee’s leadership in the river trail, or blueway effort that is a terrific economic, cultural, and quality of life benefit to communities,” said Dorene Bolze, Executive Director of the Harpeth River Watershed Association. “The Obama administration can create a National Blueway Initiative to help everyone discover and steward our nation’s rivers and wetlands.”
"Protecting Tennessee's beautiful rivers and streams also protects our treasured landscapes by increasing awareness of impacts to our local streams,” added Renée Victoria Hoyos, Executive Director of the Tennessee Clean Water Network. “Our most favorite rivers are those that flow through our towns."
Conservation leaders in Tennessee are urging the administration to take this opportunity to strengthen the capacity for federal, regional, state, and local agencies and private landowners to work collaboratively in order to protect national parks, and also the wildlife, plants, and rivers beyond park borders.
"Tennessee is home to 14 national park sites, including three national and historic trails, the Natchez Trace Parkway, and the Tennessee Civil War Heritage Area," said Emily Jones, Senior Program Manager at the National Parks Conservation Association.
"Community-centered partnerships like our Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area are proven ways of reconnecting Americans to our compelling national landscapes,” added Carroll Van West, Director of the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation and the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.
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