On July 1 the Lewis and County Commission voted 3-0 to create a 30-day comment period on a proposed 3,122-acre conservation easement east of Helena in the Spokane Hills. In June, the proposed project had also received unanimous approval from the Lewis and Clark County Open Lands Citizen Advisory Council. After the 30-day comment period the Potter Ranch conservation easement will come back to the county commissioners for a final decision.

“I am bursting with joy,” says Mary Hollow, the Executive Director of the Prickly Pear Land Trust. “These projects take years and they are highly emotional for families to discuss things about their estate and about their land, especially when they are generational ranches like this.”

by Glenn Marx, MALT Executive Director

     With the Senate Finance Committee investigation ongoing, with June 30 IRS vocal support of Senator Daines’ anti-syndication legislation, with a string of IRS court victories against syndicators, and with an IRS one-time “take it or leave it” settlement offer on the table, coordinated efforts to stop abusive syndicated conservation transactions seem to be gaining traction.

     At a June 30 Senate Finance Committee hearing, Montana Senator Steve Daines, lead sponsor of the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act, asked IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig if the IRS would support legislation stopping the syndication of conservation easement tax benefits. The Commissioner’s response was: “The IRS would welcome legislation with respect to syndicated conservation easements — the abusive transactions. Under this commissioner, the IRS will aggressively go after everybody involved in one of those transactions.”

     The Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act (S.170) is the Land Trust Alliance’s top federal policy priority, and is legislation strongly supported by the Montana Association of Land Trusts membership. The Alliance’s blog featured the June 30 exchange between Senator Daines and Commissioner Rettig. In an example of the abusive nature of a syndicated transaction, Daines cited a property that had been valued at $30 million, then with a conservation easement placed on it the property had an alleged value of $155 million. Such transactions cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year…in 2016 alone, 248 syndicated deals claimed $6 billion in charitable deductions.

     In related action, Bloomberg reported on June 25 that the IRS was offering syndicators a chance to settle, with a warning “that it is the best deal participants will get.” The settlement offer would “specify that the deduction for the contributed easement will be completely disallowed and the partnership will have to pay the full amount of tax, penalties, and interest owed. But investor partners would be allowed to deduct their cost of acquiring their partnership interests and pay a penalty reduced by between 10% to 20%.”

     Bloomberg reports the IRS has prevailed in a series of court decisions which provides the IRS a position of strength in any settlement discussions.

     “This is no sweetheart deal—and it should not be one,” said Andrew Bowman, president and CEO of the Land Trust Alliance, a national conservation organization that has consistently opposed the deals. “This is an emphatic reminder to all investors that they should steer clear of abusive conservation easement tax shelters.”

     “Recent decisions by the U.S. Tax Court demonstrate what we have long known: that abusive syndicated conservation easement deals are costing taxpayers billions and tarnishing the reputation of this very valuable conservation tool,” Daines said in his comments to IRS Commissioner Rettig.  

     The syndicators themselves, led by a group named Partners for Conservation, voiced opposition to the proposed settlement terms.

    Flathead Land Trust’s annual event, A Land Affair, has been postponed to the summer of 2021 in light of concerns about the COVID pandemic. But like many other Montana land trusts, FLT is adjusting and rallying, and is going virtual. From the recent FLT newsletter:

     Let’s party for the land, virtual style…& Raise the Sky for Conservation! 

     Join us on August 13th to celebrate impactful conservation that’s being accomplished in 2020. We’ll be hosting an online event and program with a “raise the sky for conservation” live drive and virtual cocktail hour. We’ll also be offering virtual tours of our conservation properties leading up to the event. No ticket purchase needed. We just want to celebrate with you this year, even if we can’t do it in person.

     RSVP for your spot by emailing Paul Travis. Save the Date and stay tuned for more details coming soon!

    Five Valleys Land Trust is among the land trusts featured in an article titled “Interpreting the Land” in the summer 2020 edition of Saving Land Magazine.

     The article starts on page 18 and for Five Valleys focuses on the Five Valleys Confluence Property at Rock Creek. Specifically, the article highlights Five Valleys’ engagement with – and outreach to – the Confederate Salish and Kootenai Tribes and historic Native American activity on the landscape. Five Valleys also discusses efforts enabling  Confluence Property trails to serve the entire community, which includes people of all abilities.

Congratulations to Gallatin Valley Land Trust and Bozeman trail supporters. GVLT’s Summer Trails Challenge logged 58,035 miles between June 6-26, well over the 50,000 goal, which earned $50,000 for Bozeman’s trails. Running 58,035 miles is like running from New York City to Los Angeles 20.77 times.

   Are trails important to you? If so, then you might want to hear from the panelists who’ll be participating in the Universal Trails and Outdoors for Everyone Virtual Panel from 4:00 – 5:15 PM on July 8. The panel discussion lis  titled Voices From the Community: Why Access, equity and Inclusion Matter.

     Full information about the panel (and the July 9-10 trails workshops) is available on the Five Valleys Land Trust website.

Bitter Root Land Trust and MSU/Ravalli County Extension are partnering to produce “Open Lands: A Healthy Place to Be” webinar on Tuesday, June 23, from 12:00 to 12:30 PM.

The webinar will showcase the abundant opportunities for outdoor recreation in the area’s community park lands (some of those park land projects are led by BRLT). Featured presenters include Emy Royce and Gavin Ricklefs from BRLT, and Katelyn from MSU Extension. Katelyn will share information about 2020 Bike, Walk, Roll & WIN, an MSU Ravalli County Extension health incentive program.