Richard Tucker

As the executive director of Jefferson Land Trust, I’m writing to urge our U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators to support and co-sponsor the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act to halt the abuse of conservation donations. 

Like more than 1,000 nonprofit land trusts across the country, Jefferson Land Trust was founded by community members to protect places that matter. Locally, with enormous help and support from volunteers, donors, and partners we’ve made a collective impact of which we can be proud. Since we were founded in 1989, we’ve protected more than 17,100 acres of farmland, forests, and wildlife habitat in Jefferson County. 

Conservation easements are the most common tool we use to help local landowners conserve their land. These legal agreements remove development rights from the land so that it remains undeveloped — forever open for agriculture, forestry and/or wildlife.

In most cases, we purchase these easements at fair market value using funding from private and public grant sources and/or donations from our supporters. Landowners can then use these funds to pay down loans on their farms, expand their operations, pay for college tuition, or even retire, all while knowing that the land they love and depend on is protected forever.

Occasionally, landowners are in a position to donate these easements (or a portion of the easement’s value in what we call a bargain sale). In fact, it was the donation of a conservation easement that actually kicked off our work along the Dosewallips River. In 1994 long-time residents Vern and Ida Bailey protected almost 200 acres of scenic open space and wildlife habitat by donating a conservation easement on their 187-acre working ranch and forestland. 

When landowners like the Baileys do this, they’re eligible for a charitable tax deduction based on the fair market value of the easement gift. All of us at Jefferson Land Trust, along with our fellow land conservation colleagues across the country, appreciate and applaud the donation of conservation easements and fully support and encourage legitimate charitable tax deductions by such generous landowners.

Unfortunately these legitimate charitable deductions are now under threat because of the actions of some. 

Across the U.S., a few bad actors have been exploiting the incentive to make large profits at the expense of taxpayers. These transactions are abusive tax shelters and cannot be allowed to continue. That’s why I and other conservation leaders across the country are urging Congress to pass The Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act. 

Although the number of bad actors is fairly small, the abuse is considerable. According to IRS data, these bad actors claimed $36 billion in unwarranted charitable deductions from 2010 through 2018. And, in 2018 alone, 296 entities claimed $9.2 billion in unwarranted charitable deductions. To put this into perspective, the fair market value of legitimate donated conservation easements held by 1,000 reputable land trusts across the nation is approximately $1 billion.

The IRS, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Senate Finance Committee are aware of the abuse and have taken steps to halt it. 

However, in spite of these actions, rather than stopping or diminishing, the abuse has actually increased to the point that some people have suggested discontinuing the charitable tax incentive altogether. 

Congress put this incentive in place to reward those who engage in true charity with a genuine desire to protect their land. It would be tragic if the actions of these bad actors jeopardizes an incentive that benefits our community, our country and our planet. For years, legitimate conservation organizations have worked to pursue a variety of public and private solutions to shut down these tax shelters. 

Now, by passing the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act, Congress has the perfect opportunity to stop this abuse and protect taxpayers while ensuring that tax incentives for land conservation remain available for genuine philanthropists.

Let’s do what’s needed to keep it in place.

(Richard Tucker is executive director of Jefferson Land Trust. He has dedicated his entire working life to collaborative efforts protecting land and water — from the Puget Sound all the way to the Deep South.)