The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a school district must get approval from the conservation easement holder before putting a road over conserved land. The Supreme Court based the finding on the plain language of both the statute and the conservation easement. The Ephrata School District purchased a road easement over land conserved by the county. The county denied their request to approve the road easement. The school district sued, lost at the trial court and won at the appeals court before ultimately losing in the state Supreme Court. More

The expanded federal tax incentive expired on December 31st – but in December, the Senate passed a permanent extension of the easement incentive as part of its Farm Bill. A House-Senate conference to draft a final Farm Bill is expected to start later this month or in February, and the Alliance is asking for your help in ensuring that the easement incentive makes it into the final bill. Find out more and how you can help.

On December 20, 2007, the IRS unveiled its updated Form 990 with the first major changes made since 1979. The new form will be used for the 2008 tax year starting in April 2009. The IRS modified and clarified the recently added questions regarding conservation easements. The Alliance worked closely with the IRS on the new form, and we believe the new form will be far easier to understand and use than the current form, which many land trust practitioners found confusing and difficult to complete. See the Service's background and commentary on Schedule D and more details of the changes they will be making. You will still have to use the current form for this year's filing. See information on how to fill out this year’s form.

Alliance sponsored: Conservation Options: The Land Protection Toolbox (April 14-17) Conservation and Preservation Easements and Community Stewardship Entities ALI/ABA - (March 6-7) Valuation of Conservation Easements AI/ASA/ASFMRA - (Various dates and locations around the country) Other:  Texas Land Trust Conference (February 21-23) National Executive Director Leadership Program (April 6-11) Mitigation and Ecosystem Banking Conference (May 6-9) Check out our regularly updated Datebook for more events like these.

Check out the new online resource, The Learning Center. This is a new site where you can get help to implement standards and practices, prepare for accreditation, connect with fellow conservationists, and much more! Created exclusively for Alliance member land trusts and partners. More information and login instructions.

Photo courtesy Center for Whole Communities The Alliance, together with the Center for Whole Communities and Mark Ackelson, is conducting a “Land Trust Community Engagement” survey among all land trusts in the United States to gauge how they understand and engage in their communities. Please take a few minutes to answer the survey by February 29, 2008. All respondents may choose a free book or CD from the Center for Whole Communities, and are entered in a drawing for one free registration for the 2008 Land Trust Alliance Rally!

Take part in a national “listening project” shaping how foundations direct their charitable investments for conservation and biodiversity over the next decade. The Keystone Center is conducting the project under a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The question posed in this project is: “What are the major challenges to biodiversity conservation over the next 5 to 10 years and beyond and what might be the most significant opportunities for philanthropic impact?”  Take a survey to help answer this question and more.