As our nation heads into another hurricane season and the threat of wildfire in drought-impacted parts of our country grows, disaster preparedness is front of mind for many.

Since it was created more than 50 years ago, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has supported over 41,000 state and local park projects, contributed $778 billion annually to the nation's economy and provided 5.2 million sustainable jobs nationwide. It's an amazing conservation tool.

On June 5, the president signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (H.R. 7010) into law. The bill passed the House on May 28, 417-1; the Senate passed it June 3 by unanimous consent.

Last month, I told you about Paycheck Protection Program loans and how they can help land trusts meet payroll during the pandemic.These loans are forgivable if certain conditions are met. Now we know more about those conditions.

As part of our ongoing response to the current pandemic, the Land Trust Alliance is taking new steps to ensure federal emergency response measures to include resources for land trusts.

Recent changes to federal law have significantly altered medical leave benefits for many employees. It's important that land trusts are aware of and are prepared to act on changes that apply to them and their employees.

In times of crisis, it can be a challenge simply keeping your doors open or keeping your staff employed. But there’s another critical task that can’t be neglected: keeping staff informed.

For some land trusts, meeting payroll during the pandemic is increasingly a challenge. But there's a new federal program that can help.

There is nothing normal about our new normal. It is full of challenges. And for some land trusts, one of the challenges, figuratively speaking, is keeping your doors open.

The Land Trust Alliance has joined 11 other organizations in calling for immediate passage of the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act

The IRS made a welcome and forceful statement this week when it announced increased enforcement action on abusive conservation easements. You can read the news here.

I'm excited — and you should be, too! The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterdat to permanently reauthorize the expired Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The elections are over and Congress has returned to Washington, D.C. with a lot on their plates and a short window of opportunity to get it done. Welcome to the 2018 congressional lame duck session!

The proposed State and Local Tax deduction rule change is "too sweeping" and works "quite contrary to the intent of Congress."

Congress must act now. Every day we lack a new Farm Bill is another day we stand to lose another farm or ranch.

June was a busy month for the Farm Bill — and that makes us hopeful reauthorization can beat a Sept. 30 deadline.

As we await the U.S. House of Representatives floor vote later this month on the Farm Bill, the Senate Agriculture Committee has introduced its bipartisan version of the bill.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass the Farm Bill. The vote, 198-213, saw 30 Republicans join 183 Democrats to defeat the bill.

As much as I wish it wasn't the case, abusive syndicated easement transactions remain a huge concern for the Land Trust Alliance and our entire community. But there is good news!

This week, the Trump administration released its 2019 budget proposal, "Efficient, Effective and Accountable: An American Budget." The plan, which reflects the administration’s priorities, outlines deep cuts to land conservation programs.

This week, Congress sent President Trump the finalized Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a bill that makes sweeping changes to the U.S. tax code. As I've reported to you before, these changes are likely to affect charitable organizations including land trusts.

As expected, congressional Republicans are moving rapidly to advance their tax proposal, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

For more than six decades, federal tax law provisions have prohibited nonprofit organizations from endorsing, opposing or contributing to political candidates. That could now change. And in our view, that change would be bad.

The proposal does not appear to change the enhanced deduction for conservation easement donations.

On Sept. 27, the White House and Republican leaders of Congress released a "Unified Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code." It seems like everyone has a take on what it could mean for individual taxpayers and businesses. But what are the implications for charities and, in particular, land trusts?

Capitol Hill is turning its attention to reauthorizing the Farm Bill — and the Land Trust Alliance is advocating for programs that will help our members conserve more land.

Together with you and strong bipartisan support in Congress, we made the enhanced conservation easement tax incentive permanent in 2015. That was a triumphant moment for land conservation across America.