Bipartisan legislation supports land conservation
In what Land Trust Alliance President Rand Wentworth calls the single greatest legislative action in decades, Congress passed a federal tax incentive bill supporting land conservation.
This legislation made permanent the tax incentive for farmers, ranchers and other individuals who place a conservation easement on their land preserving natural resources forever. It also made permanent the IRA charitable rollover.
The new law is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2015. These private, voluntary agreements with local conservation land trusts permanently limit uses of the land to protect its conservation values. Lands placed in the conservation easements can continue to be farmed, hunted, or used for other specific purposes.
The Land Trust Alliance public policy team took a leading role in getting these provisions included in the law. The success of this initiative — and all of the programs the Land Trust Alliance delivers — are made possible by the generous philanthropic support of our many partners, funders and donors.
