Dear , We expect a new Farm Bill to be enacted soon, including major new funding for the purchase of conservation easements and a renewal of a powerful tax incentive for conservation easement donations. The Alliance is proud to have led a coalition of land trusts, conservationists, sportsmen and farmers to achieve this, and we are grateful for all the land trusts that contacted their representatives in Congress. I encourage you to register today for Rally '08 which will run from September 18-21. This is the best way to learn the newest and most effective conservation strategies. This year Rally will be in Pittsburgh, which was recently ranked the most livable city in America. The city has evolved into a more sustainable community that is proud of its waterways, parks, mountains and quality of life.  Rand Wentworth President, Land Trust Alliance

Top headlines

Registration Now Open For Rally '08! Register now for the largest land conservation training and networking event in America. Join your fellow conservationists to celebrate our hard work and strengthen skills for the challenges ahead. Don't miss this year's inspirational plenary speakers: The Honorable Michael DiBerardinis, Secretary of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Timothy LaSalle, CEO of the Rodale Institute; and Martha Teichner, Emmy award-winning newswoman. Chuck Leavell, keyboardist for the Rolling Stones and easement donor, will treat us to his perspective and a musical sampling.

Farm Bill Expected to Pass Thanks to the advocacy of hundreds of land trusts and a national coalition of conservation, wildlife, sportsmen's, and agricultural organizations, the 5-year Farm Bill will renew through 2009 the special tax incentive for donations of conservation easements that had expired January 1 of this year. The bill also provides more than $1 billion for the purchase of conservation easements on working agricultural lands through the Farmland Protection Program and Grassland Reserve Program. More

Highlighting Your Success and Proving the Tax Incentive is Working! Celebrate a banner year for conservation with us! See stories and photos in the Land Trust Alliance's 2007 Annual Report, Conserving More Land for the Future. We received great anecdotal information about how the expanded tax incentive has helped land conservation, but have only heard from a fraction of land trusts and still need hard numbers to help us educate Congress on making the tax incentive permanent. How did the tax incentive affect your land trust work? Please take 20 minutes to complete a quick survey by Friday May 30 and review and update data on your organization. And a big "Thank you!" to everyone who has taken it already. Back to Top

Conservation Defense

Senate Committee Questions Utility Corridors Ruling A Senate committee plans to hold an oversight hearing on the Department of Energy's (DOE) implementation of the transmission corridor program, which permits the federal government to overrule state concerns in siting transmission lines. The hearings were prompted by a bipartisan coalition of 14 senators who say DOE has exceeded its authority in establishing high-priority transmission areas and has infringed on state rights. DOE received widespread criticism after issuing a final rule last October that designated large swaths of land in the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest as corridors, cases our conservation defense team have been following closely. Learn more about the issue and how you can help.

IL Court Upholds Land Trust Right to Amend On April 25, an Illinois appellate court decided that a land trust may amend a conservation easement without court approval, but also held that the amendment in that case was invalid because it conflicted with other provisions in the easement. The court went beyond requiring that any amendment uphold the purposes of the easement as required by the federal tax code. The court's holding could mean that no amendment is permissible in Illinois – even with court permission – that would be inconsistent with an existing provision of the easement. More Back to Top

Accreditation News

New Commissioner Named The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, announced the election of Kathy Treanor as a new commissioner in April. Kathy is the founder and senior advisor for the Piedmont Land Conservancy in Greensboro, NC. The Commission will announce details this summer on the application process for those interested in serving as commissioners as future seats become available. Visit the Commission's website for more information including a new annual report. Back to Top

Resources

Upcoming Seminars on Nonprofit Software Attend online seminars to help you make software decisions for your organization for only $40 each! Idealware's seminars provide practical advice and product comparisons. Upcoming topics include: 10 Mistakes in Choosing a Donor Database Introduction to Website Analytics Choosing eNewsletter Software Getting Started with Online Donations Getting Your Software Systems to Speak to Each Other: Understanding Data Integration More information

Looking to Recognize an Extraordinary Volunteer? Nominate him/her for the Alliance's National Conservation Volunteer of the Year Award! Take a moment to really show how much you appreciate that special volunteer/board member who is always pitching in and energetically supporting your land trust's work. This award is specially suited to a volunteer who makes a significant contribution to the advancement of land conservation. Nominations now being accepted! Download a nomination form today. (PDF, 500 KB) Back to Top

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

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IN THIS ISSUE

>> Registration Now Open For Rally ’08! >> Farm Bill Expected to Pass >> Highlighting Your Success and Proving the Tax Incentive is Working! >> Senate Committee Questions Utility Corridors Ruling >> IL Court Upholds Land Trust Right to Amend >> New Commissioner Named >> Upcoming Seminars on Nonprofit Software >> Looking to Recognize an Extraordinary Volunteer?

UPCOMING EVENTS September 18-21 | Pittsburgh, PA >> Early-Bird Registration Events Calendar >>

The Learning center FAQs Question:  "An easement donor sent us a copy of the appraisal and form 8283 to sign, but we have concerns that the easement appraisal contains mistakes and the value seems too high. What should we do?" Answer The Learning Center >>

spotlight: publications Nonprofit Law & Recordkeeping for Land Trusts: Volume 2 Publications Catalog >>