May 4, 2009
JHLT Joins Wyoming LTs to Support Legislation
The Jackson Hole Land Trust recently joined nine other groups from Wyoming  in support of the Conservation Easement Incentive Act (H.R. 1831), recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and cosponsored by Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). The bill would make tax incentives for private land conservation, originally enacted in 2006 and set to expire at the end of 2009, permanent.

In a letter to Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Representative Lummis, the groups highlight the importance of these incentives, which include raising the maximum deduction an individual can take for donating a conservation easement from 30% to 50% of adjusted gross income in a given year, allowing qualified farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100% of their AGI, and increasing the number of years over which a donor can take deductions from six years to 16.

The appeal of the tax benefits to Wyoming landowners is demonstrated by the dramatic spike in landowner interest in conservation – land trusts in Wyoming have permanently protected “more than 123,000 acres of working ranchland, wildlife habitat and beautiful views in the last 3 years alone,” states the letter.

Encouraging support for the legislation, the groups stress that the bill will make it easier for ranchers and other private landowners to conserve their land and will help conservation organizations protect valuable resources in Wyoming.

A parallel bill, the Rural Heritage Conservation Extension Act (S. 812), has since been introduced in the Senate.

For more information on the effort to make permanent the tax incentives for private land conservation, including a map showing cosponsors for each bill, visit www.landtrustalliance.org/policy/taxincentives/federal.