Colorado is one of the most effective states in the country when it comes to conservation activity, and that efficiency is in large part thanks to the hard work of our partner Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts (CCLT). The statewide membership organization for the land conservation community, CCLT has, with its members facilitated the preservation of over 2 million acres of Colorado’s most cherished lands, including family farms and ranches, wildlife habitat, popular trails, recreational areas and scenic vistas that have made Colorado famous.
No organization in Colorado has been as closely connected to the creation, support, and defense of the conservation easement tax credit as the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts. The Moore Charitable Foundation affiliate The Trinchera Blanca Foundation supports the CCLT as it and the membership advocate for strong conservation incentives and appropriate regulatory oversight of those conservation tools.
In 2015, CCLT worked to successfully pass Senate Bill 206, a tax incentivizing bill for private landowners interested in preserving their land by increasing the individual conservation easement tax credit in Colorado. It continued to back up the bill in 2016, educating elected officials on the benefits of conservation easements through strategic partnerships and targeted media coverage.
This year we have seen a rise in opposition against Colorado’s innovative tax program that allows for this transfer of conservation easement income tax credits from landowners to taxpayers with Colorado income tax liabilities. We stand behind CCLT as it works with conservation partners to effect positive change for the conservation easement tax credit program.
Learn more about the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts here.