A huge win for forests and landowners!

“The America Gives More Act,” which contains the “Conservation Easement Incentive Act” passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 277-130, clearing a way to create a permanent tax incentive for donating all or part of a conservation easement.

This is big news for those concerned about saving important pieces of land for water resources, climate, future food production, hunting, fishing or recreation. Conservation easements allow private landowners to keep large tracts of land in working production – creating jobs while ensuring that the forests, farms, and other natural systems remain intact.

A conservation easement allows a private landowner to receive a limited tax benefit in exchange for donating the future development rights to his or her property. Or, to put it another way, a conservation easement offers a way for a landowner to continue to own land, keeping it on the tax rolls while protecting important resources on those lands. It is an affordable way to make sure that our forests, working farms and ranch lands stay that way while boosting local economies.

This tool for conservation enjoys widespread bipartisan support because it is a great example of public-private partnership, and at a time of limited budgets, conservation easements are the most cost-effective way to conserve natural resources.

Keep an eye out for the companion bill in the Senate: S.526 Rural Heritage Conservation Act of 2013. Learn more about this effort.