Contact: Russ Shay
Director of Public Policy
202-638-4725, ext. 305 | rshay@lta.org

Deduction That Boosted Conservation by a Million Acres Gets New Life

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:

• Raises the deduction a donor can take for donating a voluntary conservation agreement from 30% of their income in any year to 50%;
• Allows farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100% of their income; and
• Increases the number of years over which a donor can take deductions from 6 to 16 years.

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.

About the Land Trust Alliance

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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Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
Receives National Land Trust Excellence Award

WASHINGTON, DC – Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) has been presented with a national conservation award for its pioneering work in the land trust field in developing and implementing conservation management plans for important natural areas and setting the example for effective collaboration in conservation.

The SWMLC was selected by The Land Trust Alliance of Washington, DC, from more than 1,700 land trusts across the country, to receive its National Land Trust Excellence Award, which was presented at Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference in Hartford, Connecticut, on October 3, 2010.

SWMLC’s Stewardship staff members are recognized as both regional and national leaders in conservation management. They have developed partnerships with organizations such as the Stewardship Network, Natural Areas Association (NAA), and Defenders of Wildlife to provide workshops and seminars across the country. They have been sought after to share their expertise at numerous conferences and training events for the Land Trust Alliance, Center for Collaborative Conservation, Stewardship Network, NAA, Heart of the Lakes Center for Land Conservation Policy, and several other conservation organizations.

“Our long-term viability, and our ability to create meaningful work in perpetuity, whether it’s scenic or cultural or protecting natural landscapes, is only going to be effective if we become part of this broader community’s fabric,” said SWMLC Executive Director Pete Ter Louw, who accepted the award for the Conservancy.

SWMLC created an innovative model for prioritization that incorporates broad stakeholder involvement and geographic information systems analysis to identify areas with critical conservation values for protection and management. The long list of stakeholders involved in these projects include federal agencies, state agencies, county officials, conservation districts, township and city officials, community foundations, private conservation organizations, universities, nature centers, community leaders, and private landowners.

The Land Trust Alliance recognized the success of this model and provided SWMLC a Strategic Conservation Planning grant to use to prioritize conservation actions in and around the 25,000-acre Barry State Game Area. Implementation of the resulting plan began immediately as a private family foundation, engaged in the planning process, stepped forward to make its core mission be the protection and restoration of priority lands. The same family foundation, the USFWS, MDNRE, Ducks Unlimited, and SWMLC have begun a long-term relationship coordinating restoration management between adjacent but separately held parcels in the same region. These partners also brought together several additional conservation organizations to receive a $1 million North American Wetland Conservation Act grant.

Rand Wentworth, President of the Land Trust Alliance, said in bestowing the award that “As a direct result of their willingness to seek out regional expertise, intergovernmental cooperation, and coordination with all of the regional members and the neighbors, the SWMLC has been able to make incredible conservation happen.”  He added, “Together with fellow consevationists, the members of the SWMLC have found an effective way to preserve the quality of life and unique character of their community — now and forever."

About The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC)
SWMLC was founded in 1991 to protect the wild and scenic areas in the nine counties of southwest
Michigan. The 3.5 million acre service area, covering an expanse the size of Connecticut, is a crossroads of ecological regions. Eastern deciduous forests meet the Midwest prairies while southern mesic woodlands border northern coniferous forests and bogs. Large river systems wind throughout the countryside on their way to Lake Michigan and the largest freshwater dunes in the world. It is home to rural farms, urban centers, Great Lakes shoreline destinations, and Michigan’s largest State Game Areas – all within a short drive from Chicago, Indianapolis, and Detroit. Visit www.swmlc.org.

About The Land Trust Alliance
The Alliance is a national conservation organization that works in three ways to save the places people love.  First, we increase the pace of conservation, so more land and natural resources get protected.  Second, we enhance the quality of conservation, so the most important lands get protected using the best practices in the business. And third, we ensure the permanence of conservation by creating the laws and resources needed to defend protected land over time. The Land Trust Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and has several regional offices.  Visit www.landtrustalliance.org.

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1. In print - Order hard copies from our publications catalog.
2. Online - Member land trusts and partners at the $250 level and above can download free PDF copies or take self-guided online courses on The Learning Center, which also includes discussion groups moderated by subject matter experts and user group communities to share information.
3. In person - Standards and Practices Curriculum workshops and seminars are available at all Alliance regional conferences, select state conferences, and at Rally.  Check for service providers in your area. Don’t have a service center in your region? Contact the Alliance at 202-638-4725 or visit http://learningcenter.lta.org to obtain free instructor manuals to sponsor your own training.

Get your free copy of the Grow brochure that outlines your educational path to success. Download (PDF, 600 KB) or email learn@lta.org for hard copies to share with staff.

Contact: Rob Aldrich,
Director of Communications
202-638-4725 x 334 | raldrich@lta.org
Photos available, e-mail pressroom@lta.org
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Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests Receives National Land Trust Excellence Award

Washington, D.C. - The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (Forest Society) was presented today with a national conservation award for its success and innovation in advocating for both land protection and the careful sustainable use of natural resources.

The Forest Society was selected by The Land Trust Alliance of Washington, D.C., from among over 1,700 land trusts across the country, to receive its National Land Trust Excellence Award, which was presented at Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference in Portland, Oregon on October 12, 2009.

“We are delighted to be recognized for our innovative land conservation work,” said President/Forester Jane Difley, who accepted the award for The Forest Society. “Our 10,000 members make us what we are today – a unique blend of visionary land trust and sustainable forestry association. Our success is due in large part to the strength of our partnerships as well as our recognition that forestry and land protection go hand in hand. We think it's a winning combination for New Hampshire's iconic landscapes, its multi-use forests, and the quality of life for the people who live, work and visit in the state.”

Since its creation in 1901, the Forest Society has been a leader in collaborative efforts to protect the natural resources throughout the state of New Hampshire. In addition to owning and actively managing 165 forest reservations in nearly 100 communities, the Forest Society holds conservation easements with numerous municipalities, provides an executor role in over 125 easements held by other organizations and has joined with nearly every major land trust in the state in completing or advocating for land protection projects. It also frequently partners with New Hampshire’s state Division of Forest and Lands and Fish and Game Department to effect protection of working forests and critical wildlife habitat.

Through consensus building and collaboration, the state’s oldest and largest land trust is a proven leader.  The Forest Society has always been looked upon to bring together various stakeholders to address complex conservation and environmental issues, in large part because it has always been viewed as a fair and reasonable convener and advocate.

Rand Wentworth, President of the Land Trust Alliance, said in bestowing the award that “From its first major initiative to promote the Weeks Act to create the eastern National Forest System, to the many other collaborative projects that reformed timber taxes, created a constitutional amendment to enable the creation of current use land assessment, and the creation of the Trust for New Hampshire Lands and Land Conservation Investment Program  - a $50 million program to secure 100,000 acres, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests efforts have proven themselves a successful leader in collaborative conservation.”  He added, “Together, the members of the Forest Society have preserved the quality of life and unique character of their community—now and forever."

About The Forest Society

Founded by a handful of concerned citizens in 1901, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests is now one of the country's most effective statewide land conservation organizations. As a non-profit membership organization, the Forest Society is dedicated to protecting the state's most important landscapes while promoting the wise use of its renewable natural resources. It completed the first conservation easement in New Hampshire in 1971, and today owns 165 Forest Reservations covering 48,000 acres and holds interests in more than 700 conservation easements and restrictions protecting more than 117,000 acres, statewide. Visit www.forestsociety.org.

About The Land Trust Alliance

The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation organization that works in three ways to save the places people love. First, we increase the pace of conservation, so more land and natural resources get protected.  Second, we enhance the quality of conservation, so the most important lands get protected using the best practices in the business.  And third, we ensure the permanence of conservation by creating the laws and resources needed to defend protected land over time. The Land Trust Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and has several regional offices. Visit www.landtrustalliance.org.

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Photo credit: L-R Rand Wentworth, Land Trust Alliance President, Jane Difley, SPNH President, and Peter Hausmann, Alliance Chairman of the Board. Photo courtesy of Francesca Dalleo.

In all the hoopla surrounding the current stimulus package, it's easy to forget that other stimulus bill -- the one in 2008 that resulted in a good-sized check for many U.S. taxpayers.  Forgetting about that earlier stimulus, and any of the other major tax changes in 2008, could mean missing out on some much-needed cash when you file your tax return this year.  There were six "pretty significant pieces of tax legislation" in 2008, said Mark Luscombe, a principal analyst with CCH, Inc., a Riverwoods, Ill., tax publisher, including bills related to housing, farming, the military, pensions, and two on the economy.  Read full story >>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chuck Roe
Alliance Southeast Progam Director
croe@lta.org

SE Land Trusts, NOAA and Others Meet On Coastal Land Strategies, Survey Planned

FAIRHOPE, AL-- On August 16 and 17, the Alliance, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), convened a meeting to discuss the opportunities and action steps needed to build stronger partnerships for strategic and collaborative coastal land and habitat protection and restoration in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster.

Land Trust Alliance Vice President Mary Pope Hutson and Alliance Southeast Program Director Chuck Roe traveled to the Alabama coast to meet with nearly 50 people representing more than a dozen land trusts active on the Gulf of Mexico coast—from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas—along with representatives from the Nature Conservancy, Conservation Fund, Trust for Public Land and Ducks Unlimited. Many federal and state agencies, including high-level representatives of NOAA, EPA, USDA, USFWS and Gulf of Mexico Alliance were also present.

During the meeting, held at the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Ms. Hutson signed a $34,700 grant agreement offered by the Gulf of Mexico Foundation. The grant will finance the next steps beyond the meeting—a survey and interviews of “stakeholder” NGO land trusts and public agencies involved in Gulf Coast habitat conservation and restoration, a follow-up forum, discussion meeting in November and preparation of an analysis report and recommendations for future actions.

This meeting may prove to be the starting point to build a consortium and collaborative project similar to previous regional landscape conservation planning projects.

Ms. Hutson will meet soon with the President’s Council on Environmental Quality to report outcomes and progress from the meeting.

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Photos courtesy of Weeks Bay Foundation. Second image: The panel discussion with representatives from MS DMR, NOAA Coastal Estuarine Land Protection Program,  Natural Resource Conservation Service, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources State Lands Division, EPA Gulf of Mexico Program and the USFWS.