Thanks to the help from many of you, the House of Representatives passed a Farm Bill that would increase funding for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program to $300 million a year over five years and add 1 million acres to the Grassland Reserve Program. Both of these programs provide funding for conservation easements on agricultural lands. More

The Myers family donated an easement to Maryland Environmental Trust As summer winds down, the end-of-the-year crunch for closing deals will be here before you know it. More interest than usual is expected from landowners looking to complete easements before the end of 2007 because of the new tax incentive set to expire in 2008. Take a look at this great example from the Maryland Environmental Trust reminding landowners to make their easement requests early and giving them an actual due date, so they can be finished in time.

Now is the time for your land trust to make your Congressperson an advocate for land conservation! Members of Congress will be home in their districts from August 6 - September 3 to meet with constituents and learn about what's happening in the communities they represent. Take advantage of this great opportunity to engage your Senators and Representatives in your work to protect local landscapes. More

Check out these three highlights from one of our most important resources – www.lta.org, the Alliance public website: The new Expert Link: our online directory of land conservation professionals including attorneys, appraisers and consultants; Farmers and Ranchers: Read, listen, or watch special pieces of the Alliance’s outreach campaign to farmers and ranchers designed to raise awareness of the enhanced tax opportunities for conservation easements; Land Trust Jobs Page: our most popular page – don’t forget to list your conservation employment opportunities here!

If this is your first time attending Rally, make sure to check out the Rally First-Timers Discussion Group on The Learning Center to get all of your questions answered and chat with each other about what attending Rally can do for you and for your organization. Once you’ve signed on, click on the “Let’s Talk” button in the top navigation bar, and join in the discussion. You can post new messages or see what questions other people have already asked and answered. All are welcome, first-timers and Rally veterans!

Been in a lake swimming with the kids this summer? Hiked up to the top of a mountain? Went kayaking? Camping? Biking? If you traveled outdoors with family and friends this summer, then be sure to send us your pictures! Send us your “Out and About In Nature” pictures and we’ll add them to our photo database for use in materials we develop to help promote the protection of the places you care about. E-mail photos to: communications@lta.org, and be sure to include the who, what, where, when, and the photographer’s name.