Lobbying to Protect Conservation Incentives

Since being established earlier this year, our Land Conservation Initiative has attracted strong interest from landowners. To date, our conservation specialists have fielded inquiries from almost 400 landowners interested in permanently protecting their property. These inquiries are due, in part, to articles about our land conservation program that have run in local newspapers in more than 100 counties statewide.

Tax incentives passed by the U.S. Congress and the Georgia General Assembly in recent  years have greatly increased private land conservation in Georgia.  In addition, landowners have several programs such as the Wetlands Reserve Program and the Grasslands Reserve Program that provide incentives for conservation.

“The overwhelming interest on the part of landowners indicates that Georgia landowners care about protecting their land, and that the tax incentives offered by the state and federal governments are clearly effective and need to be preserved,” said Shannon Mayfield, Land Conservation program director with the Georgia Conservancy.

Unfortunately, the future of these programs and incentives may be in jeopardy.  The political climate in Washington, D.C. has lately focused on belt-tightening, and budgets of agencies and programs throughout the federal government are being cut. Some programs, such as those mentioned above,  which incentivize land conservation, must soon be renewed by Congress. Over the summer, the Georgia Conservancy signed on to a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House John Boehner urging Congress not to cut funding for conservation. We joined approximately 645 other groups in signing the petition, including 507 nonprofit organizations and 138 industries and associations.

In addition, the tax breaks for conservation easements are set to expire at the end of the year. To prevent this from happening, two bills have been introduced in Congress that would make the incentives for conservation permanent. The Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2011 (H.R. 1964) seeks to amend the tax code to make the deductions for conservation easements permanent. The bill enjoys strong bi-partisan support and 260 representatives have signed on as co-sponsors. An identical bill known as the Rural Heritage Conservation Extension Act of 2011 (S. 339) has been introduced in the Senate.

Despite strong support from both sides of the aisle, passage of either bill is not a done deal. The incentives are set to expire at the end of the year, but neither bill has made it out of committee so far. To help move these bills along, the Georgia Conservancy recently sent letters to Georgia Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambilss encouraging them to support the Rural Heritage Conservation Extension Act. Conservancy President Pierre Howard, Vice President of Land Conservation Will Wingate and Land Conservation Director Shannon Mayfield will visit Washington, D.C. in November to meet with congressmen about this important issue.

“We expect the best from our visit, but regardless of the political outcome, we are committed to land conservation in the state of Georgia and helping move ecologically valuable land from ‘for sale’ to “forever’,” said Wingate.