Explore the issues

The Farm Bill is the single largest source of federal funding for private land conservation and a top priority for the Alliance. We will continue to lead our members through the ongoing 2018 Farm Bill implementation process and will advocate for strong recommendations that support land trust community priorities in the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization cycle.

The Alliance will advocate for sustained and new funding for additional federal conservation programs with a national or regional focus that support land trust conservation efforts. These programs include the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, and regional programs in watersheds across the country such as the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay.

Land trusts are equipped to increase the rate of conservation if the right tools are available. The Alliance will pursue legislation to increase opportunities for third parties to hold easements under new and existing conservation programs.

Abusive conservation easement tax shelters continue to cost taxpayers billions of dollars while putting at risk our public goodwill along with the critical federal policy and funding programs it helped us secure. The Alliance will continue to advocate in support of legislative and administrative actions to halt the abuse.

Federal tax policies can play a significant role in advancing land conservation by helping landowners pass property to the next generation or preserving sensitive habitat through like- kind exchanges. The Alliance will advocate in support of tax policies that further conservation while opposing policies that would undermine the ability of landowners to transfer lands to the next generation.

The IRS continues to focus on innocent donor documentation mistakes (often called “foot faults”) that result in disqualification of truly charitable donations. The Alliance is working to safeguard these donations by pursuing legislation that reorients the IRS from focusing on such minor mistakes. Additionally, the Alliance will continue to seek opportunities to exempt conservation donations from the state and local tax limitation.

Land trusts can lead the way in addressing the impacts of climate change. Our goal is to promote policies and funding that advance natural climate solutions while supporting the protection, restoration and stewardship of open and working lands that increase climate resilience and sequester carbon. The Alliance recognizes that proper forest management and responsible grassland management, including proper ruminant animal grazing techniques, can support these goals.

In light of growing calls to adopt policies that will accelerate conservation, the federal government has established targets to protect 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030. The Alliance will advocate for ambitious national land conservation targets and strategies that drive resources to land trusts, which are uniquely equipped to work with private landowners to protect more land to achieve this goal.

The Alliance recognizes that a transition to clean energy is an essential part of meaningfully combating climate change. Increasing pressure to site energy infrastructure – including renewable energy, carbon capture and storage, and related transmission projects – on conserved lands, however, is putting our community’s land conservation work in jeopardy. We will educate decision-makers on the importance of smart siting of energy infrastructure as guided by regional perspectives and without undermining the essential conservation values the land trust community works hard to protect.