Dear , We all want to ensure that conservation remains permanent. The Alliance anticipated increased legal challenges and media coverage on these issues but they are happening faster than we expected. The national coverage of the NPR story on the easement termination case in Wyoming demonstrates that the time to act on permanence is now. To help address these challenges, the Alliance has secured pro bono commitments from five major law firms across the country and raised $500,000 for a legal defense fund for use by the Alliance in national, precedent-setting cases. We also hired consultants to assess the feasibility of insurance to help land trusts cover conservation enforcement and defense costs. We will continue to keep you updated about cases such as those below and other issues affecting conservation permanence. Thank you for helping us defend one of our community's conservation tools by responding to our recently announced tax incentive impact survey. Providing your land trust's conservation information is a critical component to helping us show Congress the importance of these measures. Rand Wentworth President, Land Trust Alliance

Take Action

Help Save the Tax Incentive! Anecdotal evidence points to major increases in acres conserved by land trusts last year, due to the enhanced deduction for conservation easements. Being able to tell Congress the actual increase would help our effort to renew this incentive enormously. Thank you for taking a few minutes to fill out a short survey on the impact of the 2007 federal tax incentive by the April 30 deadline. This information could be critically important to our work to renew the expanded tax incentive.

Double Your Impact Today: 2008 Matching Gift Challenge Fund For a limited time, every gift you make to the Alliance will be doubled by our 2008 Matching Gift Challenge Fund. We must quickly raise $2.4 million to convince Congress to revive the expanded conservation tax incentive, prepare land trusts to deal with IRS scrutiny, and shape court decisions that will set precedent for future legal battles over protected land. Donate now and every dollar you give will go twice as far as we work together to save the places you love. Thank you! Back to Top

Conservation Defense

Maine Attorney General Intervenes in Easement Violation Case A Maine court granted a motion this year by the Maine Attorney General's office to intervene in a case on behalf of the Windham Land Trust. It is the first example of the Maine Attorney General intervening in conservation easement-related litigation. In Windham Land Trust v. Jeffords, et. al, the court granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prohibit a music festival that would likely violate a conservation easement. More...

Land Trust Community Response to Easement Termination   The Wyoming conservation easement termination case, Hicks v. Dowd, is back in the news and getting more complex. National Public Radio (NPR) aired a story on March 11, "In Land Conservation, 'Forever' May Not Last," about a government easement holder. The story didn't differentiate between private land trusts and other conservation organizations. The land conservation community does not want to give the impression that easements are transitory. See how the Alliance is addressing these misperceptions. Please contact our Conservation Defense Director, Leslie Ratley-Beach, with any questions or comments about permanence issues at lrbeach@lta.org. Back to Top

Policy UPdate

Easement Incentive Still in Play as Farm Bill Deadline Looms The Farm Bill is headed toward final decisions, and the fate of the tax incentive for conservation easements is still up in the air. Facing an April 18 deadline, House Leadership has appointed 49 conferees to hammer out a final agreement on the Farm Bill. If your Representative is on the list of conferees, please urge him or her to support including the easement incentive in the Farm Bill. Other Representatives can also help by weighing in directly with Ways & Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) or Ranking Member Jim McCrery (R-LA). More...

IRS Governance Guidelines for 501(c)(3) Organizations   In February, the Internal Revenue Service published a list of recommended governance policies and practices for tax-exempt organizations. These new guidelines, consistent with Land Trust Standards and Practices, reflect many of the themes that were stressed by the IRS over the past year and incorporated into the revised Form 990, including transparency, financial oversight and accountability. More... Back to Top

LEarning

Be a Part of History! Participate in the first instructor-led online course using the new Standards and Practices Curriculum. Conservation Easement Stewardship Funding is a four-week online course designed for land trust staff, volunteers and board members who are planning for the long-term financial support of their land trusts' easement stewardship programs. In addition to reviewing actual policies drafted by the participants, the course will focus on how land trusts design and use dedicated stewardship funds to meet their long-term easement stewardship responsibilities. May 19 – June 20, 2008, every Tuesday from 3:30 – 4:30 ET, with an extra 30 minutes of optional, online discussion time with the instructor Brenda Lind. Send an e-mail to register. Back to Top

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

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IN THIS ISSUE

>> Help Save the Tax Incentive! >> Double Your Impact Today: 2008 Matching Gift Challenge Fund >> Maine Attorney General Intervenes in Easement Violation Case >> Land Trust Community Response to Easement Termination >> Easement Incentive Still in Play as Farm Bill Deadline Looms >> IRS Governance Guidelines for 501(c) (3) Organizations >> Be a Part of History!

UPCOMING EVENTS September 18-21 | Pittsburgh, PA >> Save the Date >>Regional Conferences Northwest: May 1-3 WINTHROP, WA Southwest: May 15-17 PARK CITY, UT >>Featured Events From Bucks to Acres: Creating Conservation Success LCLP: May 12-15 SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV 2008 Yale Conservation Finance Camp: June 16-20 NEW HAVEN, CT EVENTS CALENDAR >>

Think you know? Be one of the first three people to answer this month's Rally trivia correctly, and win! PLAY HERE >>

Spotlight: curriculum Nonprofit Law and Recordkeeping for Land Trusts Volume I PUBLICATIONS CATALOG >>