Abuse of the conservation easement tax incentive has ballooned in recent years from $6 billion in illicit claimed deductions in 2016, to $6.8 billion in 2017 to $9.2 billion in 2018 — for a total of $36 billion since 2010.

The Land Trust Alliance and our 1,000 member land trusts welcome the U.S. Senate Finance Committee's thorough and revealing report today on abuse of the federal conservation tax incentive.

And with the stroke of a pen, it became official: The Land and Water Conservation Fund now has full and dedicated funding. That means that $900 million will be committed each year to protecting important land, water and recreation areas that benefit all Americans.

While the history books may best remember 2020 as the year of a global pandemic, it also could well be remembered for the realization of a 50-year-old dream across the conservation community: securing full and dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

For land trusts interested in combating climate change using the carbon storage capacity of their natural and working lands, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is working to make the path a little easier.

With all that is occurring in our world, we could all use a bit of good news these days. Today, we received some courtesy of the U.S. Senate.

We're on the cusp of Congress acting to fully fund both the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Restore America's Parks Act! But we need your help to get this across the finish line.

Over the past 10 years, our community has been tremendously successful in advocating for federal policies that advance land conservation. From passage of the permanent conservation tax incentive to enacting the Farm Bill, these successes wouldn't be possible without your advocacy support.