In August 2006, President Bush signed into law a temporary increase in the federal tax incentives available to landowners and farmers who voluntarily protect their land from development through legal agreements called conservation easements.

But the incentives will expire at the end of 2007 unless Congress votes to make them permanent. Bills aiming to do just that have amassed an overwhelmingly bipartisan list of co-sponsors in both the U.S. House and Senate (H.R. 1576, S. 469).

Among the 10-member Wisconsin delegation, however, only Reps. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, and Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, have signed on with their support.

The new law catalyzed a surge of private land conservation in Wisconsin. Landowners across the state have been encouraged by the increased tax incentives to take action on their wishes to prevent subdivision and development on valuable natural lands by donating conservation easements.

“There have been some tax incentives in place for conservation easement donations in the past, but they were really only beneficial for people with fairly sizeable incomes,” said Michael Strigel, executive director of Gathering Waters Conservancy. “The new expanded incentives allow more families to achieve real tax benefits for their donations.”

Strigel said conservation easement donations support the quality of life of all Wisconsin taxpayers by keeping undeveloped lands open, maintaining the natural character of rural neighborhoods and ensuring that both agricultural and forested lands continue to contribute to the statewide economy.

The tax incentives, Strigel said, give more private landowners the opportunity to participate in the preservation of Wisconsin’s natural resources.

“Not all important conservation land is held by the very wealthy,” Strigel said. “We’d like Congress to keep these incentives accessible to more landowners by making the current law permanent.”