Revised Conservation Tax Law Favors Working Family Ranches

Lander, WY—September 4, 2006—Tax deductions of up to 100% of adjusted gross income will boost financial options for ranchers who donate a conservation easement on their land, thanks to new legislation signed by President Bush. The Pension Protection Act of 2006, signed into law on August 17, provides new tax incentives to a widening circle of Wyoming ranchers actively protecting our state’s remaining open spaces.

Under the new legislation, a ranching family may take up to 16 years to take advantage of the deduction, increasing the donation’s financial advantage to a working family.

This is great news for Wyoming’s hardworking ranchers and farmers. According to the new legislation, farmers and ranchers are defined as someone who receives more than 50% of their income from “the trade or business of farming.” For an easement to qualify for the 100% deduction, it must contain a restriction requiring that the land remain “available for agriculture.”

The law applies to all easements donated to a qualified non-profit organization or government entity such as the Wyoming Game and Fish Department or the new Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust in 2006 and 2007.

In addition to a wealth of wildlife, Wyoming is also home to many organizations dedicated to conserving wildlife habitat. “Here in Wyoming we’re fortunate to have so many wonderful organizations devoted to protecting our unique natural heritage,” says Paula Hunker, who specializes in conservation easements as associate director of The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming.

“Each has its own focus—the Wyoming Stockgrowers Agricultural Land Trust works with ranchers on agricultural land conservation easements, the Green River Valley Land Trust focuses on that incredibly important watershed, the Jackson Hole Land Trust has been protecting the land around Jackson Hole since1980, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and various state agencies protect wildlife habitat throughout the state as well,” Hunker says. The Nature Conservancy holds 180 conservation easements, all of which allow ranching, but are primarily designed to protect biological diversity.

Private landowners, especially ranchers, are increasingly viewed as the key to protecting Wyoming’s open lands and wildlife corridors. Studies by the American Farmland Trust suggest that up to 2.6 million acres of Wyoming’s most productive ranchlands may be converted to other uses by 2020.