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Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Groups Urge Congress To Preserve Vital Conservation Tax Incentive ToolMadison, WI—June 20, 2005—Two dozen leading national hunting, fishing, outdoor recreation and conservation groups today released a letter to Congress expressing their strong support for conservation tax incentives for conservation easements and highlighting the vital role easements play in virtually all outdoor recreation in the United States. The letter, sent to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT), comes as this committee begins a review of federal tax law for charitable giving and possible changes to tax incentives for conservation easements. “Easements ensure that millions of acres of wildlife habitat across the country remain healthy and intact, benefiting deer, waterfowl, fish and other game animals,” the letter said. “Easements also improve water quality, providing Americans with clean and beautiful watersheds for fishing, boating, hiking and other outdoor activities.” The letter was signed by 24 organizations including the Outdoor Industry Association, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Ducks Unlimited, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited and the Izaak Walton League of America. In the letter, the groups said they are eager to work with the Finance Committee and that they support legislation containing targeted reforms to end tax abuses while preserving the core incentives that have encouraged private property owners to use conservation easements. “Many state and local economies are dependent upon open space and wildlife habitat which can generate millions of dollars in recreation and tourism,” the letter said. “Often these valuable resources occur on private property and conservation easements frequently are the only way to conserve these lands, ensuring their long-term viability.” A conservation easement is a voluntary, legally binding agreement that permanently limits certain types of uses or prevents development from taking place on a piece of property, while protecting the property’s ecological or open-space values. Easements allow individual owners to continue to own the land and to sell it or pass it on to their heirs. For more information, contact:Gregg Patterson, Ducks Unlimited: 901-758-3937 ### For more information about conservation easements:
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