Federal Legislation: Conservation Tax Incentives and the Land & Water Conservation Fund

In December, the US Congress passed and the president signed into law legislation making the enhanced tax incentive for conservation easement donations permanent.

First enacted as a temporary provision in 2006 (which expired in 2014), the incentive grants certain tax benefits to landowners who sign a conservation easement. 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.

Also in December, Congress passed an omnibus spending bill that included temporary, 3-year reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which had expired in September.

“Looking forward we all need to make sure that Congress understands that short-term fixes are welcome, but that our threatened natural heritage calls for a permanent solution,” said SAHC Trustee Jay Leutze. “I’m really proud that several members of our region’s Congressional delegation stood up and let leadership in both houses know how important public land is here at home.”