In December, Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill that includes the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act, a move designed to close existing loopholes in land trust easement donations that have been exploited by investors and that take advantage of a program designed to encourage citizens to voluntarily conserve land. Blue Ridge Conservancy applauds this bipartisan effort to return the integrity of conservation easements and land protection. The bill was introduced by Sens. Steve Daines of Montana, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, along with Reps. Mike Thompson of California and Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.

In 1976, Congress created a tax incentive to facilitate land conservation in the United States. The incentive allows property owners to donate a perpetual easement on their land to a nonprofit charity in return for a federal charitable tax deduction. A small number of “bad actors” have abused this deduction by artificially inflating land value, donating the land, and dramatically reducing their tax bills. According to the Land Trust Alliance, from 2010-2018, $36 billion in unwarranted deductions were claimed.

“Blue Ridge Conservancy (BRC) has worked with over 150 landowners to conserve their family land and farms with a conservation easement over the past 25 years. Every project BRC is involved in meets IRS guidelines and is consistent with the original intent of the law,” states Eric Hiegl, BRC’s Director of Land Protection and Stewardship. “Maintaining the integrity of conservation easements is vital for future generations to have the option to conserve their land with a conservation easement.”

BRC Executive Director Charlie Brady commends this step by Congress and emphasizes BRC’s mission and transparency: “BRC pledges to always follow the highest ethical principles as we protect and conserve the land we all love in the Blue Ridge.”

BRC partners with landowners and local communities to permanently protect natural resources with agricultural, cultural, recreational, ecological, and scenic value in northwest North Carolina. For more information, visit https://blueridgeconservancy.org/.