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.

Now that the 116th Congress is seated, our community is presented with the opportunity to make a difference on federal policies impacting land trusts nationwide.

As I reflect on this week's election activity across the country, I am struck by the resounding call by Americans to protect our lands and waters through ballot measures funding conservation.

This thrilling achievement would not have been possible without land trust people investing deeply in building relationships with state and local officials — whether or not they were asking for anything — through the years.

Growing up, baseball was life. I learned the game as a Pirate but perfected it as a Gator. In between, I saw time as a member of the Cubbies, RiverDogs and Zephyrs.

Iconic mountain ranges, farms and ranchlands, parks, rivers and open spaces have long defined Colorado. And to safeguard those important natural resources, Colorado has long made conservation a priority.

Enacting change can be hard. As creatures of habit, we prefer the familiar to the unknown. Less work to more. But when we are joined by others who share our values, change is possible. And I believe we — as a community — have the power to usher in a new era for private land conservation.

The Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act (H.R. 4459) is great news for land trusts nationwide and a welcome respite from partisan divide in Washington. And from our perspective as a land trust in Colorado, this act bolsters the legal foundation of our main conservation tool and reassures our supporters, easement holders and community of the unwavering integrity with which we operate.

Cheryl Fox of the accredited Summit Land Conservancy in Utah tells us how the Land Trust Alliance makes advocating on behalf of land conservation on Capitol Hill so easy, and patriotically inspiring.

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.