(Chelsea Update would like to thank Diane Huhn for the information in this story.)
Legacy Land Conservancy, Michigan’s first local land trust, praised the recent bipartisan congressional vote that makes permanent a federal tax incentive supporting land conservation in a press release.
Farmers, ranchers and the public will directly benefit from the incentive, which encourages landowners to place a conservation easement on their land to protect important natural, scenic and historic resources,” said Susan Lackey, executive director of the Legacy Land Conservancy.
Legacy was among the 1,100 land trusts to support the incentive through a collaborative, multi-year campaign.
“Making these tax incentives permanent is not only a huge win for encouraging much needed permanent land conservation in our rapidly growing region, it’s a huge win for individuals and families struggling to balance very real financial constraints with their desire to protect their land for future generations,” Lackey said.
She said, “This important legislation opens the door to land owners who might not previously have been able to consider signing a conservation easement.”
Legacy, a member of the Land Trust Alliance, the national land conservation organization that led the campaign for permanence, has led successful campaigns to secure funding for the conservation of more than 6,000 acres of lands in Washtenaw and Jackson Counties.
“The importance of this vote—and this incentive—cannot be overstated,” said Rand Wentworth, the alliance’s president. “This is the single greatest legislative action in decades to support land conservation. It states, unequivocally, that we as a nation treasure our lands and must conserve their many benefits for all future generations.”
In a strong bipartisan action, the House voted 318-109 and the Senate voted 65-33 to pass the bills that included the tax incentive.
First enacted as a temporary provision in 2006, the incentive is directly responsible for conserving more than 2 million acres of America’s natural outdoor heritage. The incentive grants certain tax benefits to landowners who sign a conservation easement. Such private, voluntary agreements with local land trusts permanently limit uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. Lands placed into conservation easements can continue to be farmed, hunted or used for other specified purposes. The lands also remain on county tax rolls, strengthening local economies.
Once signed into law, the incentive will be applied retroactively to Jan. 1, 2015. An earlier version of the incentive expired Dec. 31, 2014.
The incentive advanced through Congress as part of the America Gives More Act, a package of tax incentives to encourage charitable giving. It passed the House earlier this year, 279-137. A standalone version of the incentive, the Conservation Easement Incentive Act, earned 52 Senate sponsors this year, including 26 Democrats, 24 Republicans and 2 Independents. The agreement announced this week additionally encourages donations to food banks and facilitates charitable deductions from IRAs.
