Mid-Atlantic corridor A national electric corridor "threatens over 400,000 acres of roadless forest in southern California,” according to the California Wilderness Coalition. The U.S. Department of Energy has also designated more than 116,000 square miles for another corridor running from New York to Ohio. Using the ‘National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor’ designation provides utilities with federal condemnation authority to site transmission lines, exemption from environmental review, and preemption of traditional state regulation of transmission lines and local land use laws. Join a conference call hosted by the Land Trust Alliance on December 11 at 2pm EST for an in-depth discussion of this urgent issue (888-338-1010 code 2007). More

The House has passed a one-year extension of the new conservation easement tax incentive, and the Senate began – then halted – debate on a Farm Bill with a provision that would make the new tax incentive permanent, plus would provide millions of dollars for purchasing conservation easements. The two legislative bodies are running out of time to come to an agreement on these items this year – but they still might with your help! More

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, has been testing the accreditation application and review process with two rounds of pilots in 2007, to help modify the program to make it more efficient and effective. Given information from the pilots, the Commission recommended that the number of accreditation indicator practices drawn from Land Trust Standards and Practices be reduced from 42 to 37. The Alliance board reviewed the recommendations and approved the changes to the list of indicator practices, effective January 1, 2008. More

A high-profile story on conservation easements prominently featured one of our member land trusts, the Whitewater Valley Land Trust (IN), and one of its landowners in Financial Times. The Alliance was able to connect the journalist with this great conservation story as a result of the farmer and rancher outreach campaign. This is great exposure for our community, with Financial Times’ circulation at over 400,000 readers! Also check out a feature article in Trout Unlimited’s magazine about their partnerships with the land trust community on water issues - with some basic information on land protection, a short piece by Rand Wentworth, and beautiful photos and stories.

Defenders of Wildlife's Living Lands project is again offering small grants of up to $10,000 to land trusts working to build their capacity for biodiversity conservation. These ‘pilot projects’ assist land trusts in advancing one specific project with significant biodiversity values, such as protecting at-risk habitats or at-risk species. For more information and a downloadable application, click here and choose 'Pilot Project funding'.  Applications are due by January 15, 2008.

The IRS has a new filing requirement for nonprofits that are too small to be required to file a 990 (those with revenues under $25,000 per year). These organizations now must file an e-Postcard, or risk losing their tax-exempt status. More

The Wall Street Journal cites a nationwide trend of more donors giving via securities than cash this year. Land trust development staff and volunteers should be aware of this trend for their year-end fundraising push. If you are a small or new land trust, don’t wait until the last minute to set up a brokerage account to enable you to receive these types of gifts. Read the article and related tips on accepting gifts of securities.

Join Ian Johnson, former World Bank Vice President for Sustainability, and Patrick Coady, former U.S. Executive Director of the World Bank, for an online chat about the future of conservation finance both in the United States and internationally. Join the conversation on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 10am EST. Participation is free, but you must register first.