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Wyoming delegation champions landmark agriculture and open space conservation billWyoming Wyoming's private landowners--and especially family farmers and ranchers--will be the beneficiaries of legislation, cosponsored by Republican Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso and Republican Rep. Cynthia Lummis to make permanent the federal tax incentive for donations of conservation easements. Two-hundred twenty-nine members of Congress have now signed on to the landmark bill, and Wyoming joins Montana in having the support of its entire delegation. "This incentive is a win-win opportunity for family farmers, ranchers, and conservationists in the Cowboy State," said Senator Mike Enzi, upon co-sponsoring the bill. "I worked hard to make this idea a reality when it was originally created and I am proud to support private, voluntary land conservation." Senator John Barrasso said, "Voluntary incentives for working ranchers are an important tool in Wyoming. Providing a permanent tax incentive for conservation easements is a great way to encourage conservation efforts while also reducing the tax burden on hard working families." "As a former Board Member of the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust, I have seen how conservation easements can be an important tool for working ranch families," said Congresswoman Lummis. "They can be used as a component of estate planning and help ease the transfer of family ranches from one generation to the next. And most importantly, they help us to maintain the wide open spaces, working ranch lands and western heritage that we all love about Wyoming." Representative Lummis was an original cosponsor of the legislation in the House. H.R. 1831, and its Senate companion, S. 812, will aid in the protection of millions of acres of the nation's agricultural lands and open spaces by making permanent an expiring incentive that allows modest-income landowners to receive significant tax savings for donating conservation easements that permanently protect important natural or historic resources on their lands. In Wyoming, more than 450,000 acres have been conserved throughout the state by groups such as the Jackson Hole Land Trust, the Green River Valley Land Trust and the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust.¬ When landowners donate conservation easements to a land trust, they maintain ownership and management of their land and can pass the land on to their heirs, while foregoing their rights to develop the land in the future. In doing so, the value of their property is reduced which can help families with estate planning or enable ranch sales to other working ranchers. The incentive, which applies to a landowner's federal income tax, will: --Raise the deduction a donor can take for donating a voluntary conservation easement from 30 percent of their income in any year to 50 percent; --Allow farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100 percent of their income; and --Increase the number of years over which a donor can take deductions from 6 to 16 years. According to the Land Trust Alliance, the national organization that provides a voice for land trusts in Washington, D.C., 229 Members of Congress have co-sponsored legislation to permanently extend the incentive. The legislation is supported by American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Ducks Unlimited, The Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and many conservation organizations. "These tax incentives are designed to benefit working ranchers and farmers--families whose income is derived primarily from their agricultural operation. In these challenging times it is critical that Wyoming's ag community has the broadest range of financial tools available," said Pamela Dewell, Executive Director of the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust.¬ "We can't thank Senator Barrasso, Senator Enzi and Representative Lummis enough for their support of this important legislation," said GRVLT Land Program Director Jordan Vana. "The enhanced federal tax incentives for conservation have made a real difference for working landowners in Sublette County and, if extended, will help a number of additional families maintain the agricultural and natural landscapes that define Wyoming." "This legislation makes the benefits of conservation easement donation available to a much broader swath of landowners," said Laurie Andrews, executive director of the Jackson Hole Land Trust. "And that's key to our ability to protect the wide open spaces and abundant wildlife that define Wyoming."
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