Dear , Last week, I met with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar who articulated an exciting vision for conserving America's treasured landscapes, including the work that land trusts do with private landowners. He affirmed his commitment to winning full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. See more. As Congress considers the expanded tax incentives and investments in land conservation, they are also watching the progress that we are making on accreditation. We’d like to congratulate the 14 new land trusts that recently achieved accreditation. This is a good time to begin the planning for your application in 2010. Several land trusts have told me that this is a good time to apply for accreditation since fewer landowners are donating easements during the recession.   Rand Wentworth President, Land Trust Alliance

ACCREDITATION

Land Trusts in Twelve States Awarded Accreditation Congratulations to the 14 land trusts that have just been awarded accreditation! All are members of the Alliance. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission made the announcement February 25. These land trusts reflect the exceptional diversity of land trusts across the U.S., and range from groups that conserve ranches in the wide expanses of the Rocky Mountain west and those that protect the watersheds of the Northwest, to those that work along the Mississippi River and those that protect working lands in the Southeast. Learn more about the newly accredited land trusts.

POLICY

New Letters Attract Easement Incentive Cosponsors—Is Your Representative Among Them? Last week, Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Eric Cantor (R-VA) circulated a Dear Colleague letter seeking original cosponsors for the Conservation Easement Incentive Act they plan to introduce soon. The Conservation Tax Incentive Coalition followed suit with a similar letter signed by 57 organizations.  Is your Representative among the 18 who responded by signing on as original cosponsors? To find out, and for instructions on how you can help if they haven’t yet signed-on, click here.

Secretary Salazar Sets the Stage for Tripling LWCF, Other Good Budget News Interior Secretary Ken Salazar highlighted three primary goals of the Obama administration during his meeting with the Alliance and our partners: energy, treasured landscapes, and youth. We also learned that former Alliance board chair Will Shafroth has been nominated as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. See more. Last week, the President made a big down payment on Secretary Salazar’s promise of full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. His Fiscal Year 2010 budget would nearly triple LWCF funding to $420 million. Read more about the budget. Other good news on funding for conservation: Stimulus Package: Contains billions for federal conservation agencies; creative land trusts could benefit if they act fast. Fiscal Year 2009 Appropriations: Today President Obama is expected to sign a spending package for the current fiscal year that includes modest increases for conservation programs. Back to Top

RESOURCES FOR TOUGH TIMES

Land Trust Collaborations Nearly one in five nonprofit leaders in the U.S. says he or she is looking at mergers or acquisitions to maintain the group’s activities, according to a new survey by Boston’s Bridgespan Group. Collaborations, staff-sharing and joint ventures can help land trusts maximize their financial resources and improve their impact, especially when times are tough. These arrangements require careful planning to mesh the needs of two or more groups. While every arrangement is different, some underlying elements are common to all successful collaborations. The Alliance has assembled a list of strategic resources on land trust collaborations.

Job Seekers Alert At a time when some land trusts and environmental groups have been forced to cut back on staffing, the Alliance wants to help. If you recently lost your job with a member land trust or an Alliance partner organization and would still like to get access to The Learning Center, please e-mail tlc@lta.org for free access for up to a year. We also invite you to keep posted on openings at land trusts and other conservation organizations on our Jobs page as well as our new online listing of other environmental job boards and job search resources. Back to Top

CONSERVATION DEFENSE

Comments Sought on Conservation Defense Insurance We now need your advice on the next details of the proposed conservation defense insurance program to make sure it works for your land trust. Please comment by March 25 on the new proposed business terms for the insurance program. The Alliance encourages you to review and discuss the revised plan and its details with your board, your land trust attorney and insurance agent, as well as your key staff or volunteers. The draft Business Terms and draft Conditional Commitment Agreement are available online for your review. More

Land Trust Struggles to Preserve Colonial Site from College Developer Rockburn Land Trust has an ongoing legal challenge to save Colonial-era Belmont in Baltimore, Maryland. Development of the historic site by a community college threatens the adjacent conserved land with the extension of roads and utilities. While this is not a typical land trust challenge, it does provide many lessons, including: Maintain a broad base of community information gathering Rapidly mobilize citizen voices Negotiate limits on pre-existing encumbrances Understand your organizational capacity Share the legal burden with others More Back to Top

INDUSTRY NEWS

EPA Eases CERCLA Requirements for Forestland and Rural Properties Are you familiar with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act’s requirements concerning the investigation of property for potential environmental contamination? These requirements, however, may not always fit when acquiring undeveloped rural property. Last December, the EPA amended this regulation to ease requirements for acquiring forestland and rural property greater than 120 acres. EPA’s new rule becomes effective March 23, 2009. Learn more about this new rule.

Land Trusts and Sarbanes-Oxley: A Reminder Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals, including Enron, WorldCom and others. The legislation established new or enhanced standards for all U.S. public company boards, management and public accounting firms. Learn more about the two aspects of Sarbanes-Oxley that are applicable to nonprofit organizations: Whistleblower protection Document destruction Land trusts are reminded to adopt and implement a whistleblower policy and document retention policy pursuant to Practices 2A and 2D of Land Trust Standards and Practices. Learn more in the Alliance Standards and Practices Curriculum course, “Nonprofit Law and Recordkeeping for Land Trusts, Volume II: Recordkeeping Essentials for Land Trusts.”  Back to Top

eNews is edited and produced by Francesca Dalleo, Communications Specialist at the Alliance.

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IN THIS ISSUE

>> Land Trusts in Twelve States Awarded Accreditation >> New Letters Attract Easement Incentive Cosponsors—Is Your Representative Among Them? >> Secretary Salazar Sets the Stage for Tripling LWCF, Other Good Budget News >> Land Trust Collaborations >> Job Seekers Alert >> Comments Sought on Conservation Defense Insurance >> Land Trust Struggles to Preserve Colonial Site from College Developer >> EPA Eases CERCLA Requirements for Forestland and Rural Properties >> Land Trusts and Sarbanes-Oxley: A Reminder

UPCOMING EVENTS Rally 2009 | October 11-14 | Portland, OR >>Save the Date Online Trainings The Board's Role in Tough Economic Times: March 18. MORE>> What Land Trusts Need to Know about the New IRS Form 990: March 23. MORE >> Determining Easement Stewardship Costs: April 1. MORE >> Drafting Easements for Perpetuity: May 6-27. MORE >> Regional Conferences Midwest: March 12-14 MADISON, WI>> Northeast: April 29-30 NEW POINT, NY>> Southeast: March 25-26 AUBURN, AL >> EVENTS CALENDAR >>

new saving land Take a look at the Winter 2009 issue of Saving Land. Do you want to be in Saving Land? Send your ideas to csoto@lta.org More>>

NEW PRESERVING FAMILY LANDS BOOK Steve Small has updated Preserving Family Lands: Book I to include the new conservation easement tax incentives and to encourage landowners to act now. Distributing this new edition could be a big boost to your easement efforts this year. Order before April 15 for special pricing! Purchase New Book I >>

LANDVOTE 2008 A Record Year at the Ballot Box: $8.4 Billion Approved, Despite Tough Economic Times More >>