Legislation to Promote Private Conservation
Landowners who are looking to preserve their land can also save on their tax bills by donating their voluntary conservation easements to groups like Ducks Unlimited. By donating their land to DU, landowners can permanently set aside a piece of waterfowl habitat in exchange for deducting the value of that land from their annual tax bill.
September Update
More than half of the House of Representatives has signed on to support conservation easement donations! See the full list here
Senators Max Baucus (MT) and Charles Grassley (IA) and Congressmen Mike Thompson (CA) and Eric Cantor (VA) have introduced bills to make incentives for donating Conservation Easements permanent. Over 230 Members of Congress have signed on to support this bill. See list of supporters and encourage your Senators Representative to sign on if they haven't already!
If your Representative and Senators are already supporting conservation easements, thank them with a letter to the editor of your local paper - They'll appreciate the gesture and it will remind them to follow through and keep the bill moving through Congress!
Sample letter to the editor
Support in Washington
The map below shows the House member support for continuing the incentive came from in 2008 and who has supported it in 2009 (H.R. 1831) (click to enlarge)
(courtesy of the Land Trust Alliance)
The map below shows the Senate member support for continuing the incentives (S.812) in 2009
"Dear Colleague" letter from bill sponsors Rep. Mike Thompson (CA) and Eric Cantor (VA) to Congress
"How Conservation Easements Tax Incentives Work" (courtesy of the Land Trust Alliance)
Where we work
Ducks Unlimited owns a number of conservation easements that have either been purchased or donated to us by private landowners that wanted to permanently protect their land. See the map below to see where DU has easements and the number of acres protected (click to enlarge).
