Conservation Groups Urge Passage of Easement Legislation

December 11, 2019

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
Republican Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
Democratic Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Leaders:

As the leading voices of the conservation and appraisal communities, we urge you to take immediate action and pass S. 170/H.R. 1992, the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2019.

Every fall, solicitations appear in publications promising enormous profits from short-term investments in conservation easement syndications. This year is no different: One recent ad, for example, promises investors $600,000 in charitable deductions for each $100,000 invested.

These fraudulent transactions are costing the U.S. government real money: Between 2010 and 2016, investors claimed more than $20 billion in bogus deductions from these transactions, with billions more expected this year. Moreover, this egregious abuse risks tarnishing a worthy program that has incentivized the conservation of millions of acres of irreplaceable lands, including farmland, forests, ranches and wetlands that provide communities across our nation with greater access to locally grown food, space to recreate, and cleaner air and water.

The Department of the Treasury has long labeled these investment schemes “abusive tax shelters” while the Department of Justice says these syndicates lack economic substance and are shams. Yet, while the IRS and DOJ have taken action, including warning investors to avoid the schemes, many promoters and investors continue to flout the government's attempts to curb these abuses.

It's time for Congress to ensure that this commendable program can no longer be exploited as a get-rich-quick scheme at the expense of American taxpayers. We stand united in our support for the pending legislation, which is the fastest and most efficient way to stop this abuse and save taxpayers billions of dollars. It is urgently needed and long overdue. We respectfully ask you to pass S. 170/H.R. 1992, the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2019.

Sincerely,

American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers
American Society of Appraisers
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Appraisal Institute
Ducks Unlimited
Land Trust Alliance
Partnership of Rangeland Trusts
Pheasants Forever Quail Forever
The Conservation Fund
The Nature Conservancy
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
The Trust for Public Land

CC:
The Honorable Richard Neal
The Honorable Kevin Brady
The Honorable Charles E. Grassley
The Honorable Ron Wyden
The Honorable Mike Thompson
The Honorable Mike Kelly
The Honorable Steve Daines
The Honorable Debbie Stabenow

For further information, feel free to contact:

Stephen Frerichs, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, sfrerichs8@comcast.net

John Russell, American Society of Appraisers, jrussell@appraisers.org

Brendan Mysliwiec, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, bmysliwiec@appalachiantrail.org

Bill Garber, Appraisal Institute, bgarber@appraisalinstitute.org

Gido Tori, Ducks Unlimited, gtori@ducks.org

Lori Faeth, Land Trust Alliance, lfaeth@lta.org

Erik Glenn, Partnership of Rangeland Trusts, eglenn@ccalt.org

Bethany Erb, Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever, berb@pheasantsforever.org

Kelly Reed, The Conservation Fund, kreed@conservationfund.org

Kameran Onley, The Nature Conservancy, konley@tnc.org

Steve Kline, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, skline@trcp.org

Myke Bybee, The Trust for Public Land, myke.bybee@tpl.org