Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2011

H.R. 1964: Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2011 is part of the

112^th Congress: 2011-2012. It is currently pending in Congress to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and, if approved, will make permanent the special rule for contributions of qualified conservation contributions.

How does this affect conservation of the built environment? Well, it is an important tool and will be a means in supporting ways to assist local ranchers' long term survival by extending tax deductions for “conservation easements” and will do more to achieve family legacy of ranches than all the existing traditional programs combined.

Locally, the in Summit County, Colorado, the Howard Giberson - Land Conservation Legacy comes to mind (http://www.cdlt.org/friends/index.html). Howard Giberson was a third generation Summit County-an who was raised on his family’s ranch located between Frisco and Dillon where Giberson Bay of the Dillon Reservoir is today. Howard bought the ranch from his parents in the 1950’s only to see it gradually taken away from him; first by the Denver Water Board for Dillon Reservoir and then by the Department of Transportation for Interstate 70. The original 780 acre ranch was down to less than 200 acres. Mr. Giberson wanted to protect what was left of his family’s ranch. After granting thirteen small lots to his nieces and nephews, he protected the rest of the ranch with a conservation easement that he granted to Contintental Divide Land Trust (CDLT) in 1998. Howard’s commitment to protecting the land and the ranching heritage of his family and Summit County earned this special recognition. Mr. Giberson passed away in July 2007 at the age of 95. Mr. Giberson’s niece Peggy Chamberlain Alexander accepted the award on behalf of the Giberson family.

I do hope when restoration of historic resources, which are in need of restoration within this easement that the CDLT engages the proper consultants (Archaeologists, Historical Architects, Landscape Architects, Historic Preservation Specialists / Contractors) for such undertakings.