Melissa Daruna, Keep It Colorado
Most everyone is aware of the ecological benefits of conserving land – clean water, healthy plants and wildlife, and rich habitat for animals, birds and fish. But two other critical outcomes of conservation immediately rise to the top for me: a strong economy and climate change mitigation. Most Coloradans agree.
After a year rife with the pandemic, wildfires and economic hurdles, these arguments for advancing and protecting legislative policy that drives more conservation are stronger than ever.
One tool we have worked hard to protect is Colorado’s Conservation Easement Tax Credit program. The state allocates $45 million dollars annually in the form of “tax credits,” and issues those to landowners who voluntarily agree to protect their land’s conservation value in perpetuity. These are values that benefit all Coloradans, including protection of natural resources, diverse wildlife and plants, open space, and historic and recreation resources.
Colorado’s tax credit program has resulted in the voluntary conservation of millions of acres of working farms, ranches and other private land. And it has contributed significantly to the protection of open space, parks, and other natural areas and outdoor destinations.
We know Coloradans value this work. In a Keep It Colorado survey, 96 percent of Coloradans expressed a favorable opinion of land trusts, and more than half say that actions related to conserving land are extremely important responsibilities for land trusts to undertake. Land trusts rely on those voluntary agreements with landowners (called conservation easements); the tax credit program incentivizes landowners to make such arrangements.
How does this translate to supporting our rural economies?
Conservation investments from the tax credit program allow small family farms and ranches to remain in operation, and in this pandemic year, that’s crucial. Conservation easements remain one of the few capital infusion opportunities for struggling landowners and rural communities. In fact, a recent Colorado State University study showed that in the agricultural sector alone, new investments in conservation programs have the potential to add $195 million into Colorado’s economy, and give a much-needed boost to our rural communities.
Conservation investments also support the recreation amenities our outdoor economy and many communities across the state depend on. Consider this:
About 90 percent of Coloradans participate in outdoor recreation activities annually. Conservation creates opportunities for hiking, camping, viewing wildlife, fishing and hunting, and for manufacturing and selling equipment for those activities – pumping dollars into our state’s economy. It’s worth noting that during the pandemic, two-thirds of Coloradans report that they continued or increased their outdoor activities at parks or in nature.
About 15 percent of leisure visitors to Colorado come specifically for the parks, trails, rivers, open spaces, recreation amenities and wildlife, which are available because of conservation. People who come primarily to visit the outdoors are estimated to spend $1.21 billion annually in Colorado, generating tens of millions of dollars in tax revenues.
Another CSU report shows that conservation easements yield a $12:1 return on investment to the state.
How does all this tie to climate change?
More extreme weather patterns, chronic drought, a longer and more intense wildfire season, and diminished snowpack are becoming more prevalent and dire. People acknowledge these threats: 88 percent of Coloradans say “Yes, climate change is occurring,” and 87 percent believe in protecting the land from climate change.
While land conservation alone cannot end climate threats, it plays a key role in creating natural solutions to mitigate the impacts. For example, conservation strategies store carbon in plants and soils, remove harmful gases from the atmosphere, protect wildlife habitat, and increase the diversity of plants and animals that make up a healthy ecosystem.
Good legislative policy addresses these challenges. On June 30, 2021, Governor Polis signed into law Conservation Easement Tax Credit Modifications (HB21-1233).
At its core, the statute helps ensure that the tax credit program can work as well as possible for as many landowners as possible in a critical time of economic recovery, especially in rural Colorado. It addresses changes to the tax credit program that will ensure that the tax credit incentive is adequate to encourage conservation and make the program more accessible to landowners across the state; increase efficiency in credit processing and tracking; and expand the definition of “eligible landowner” to include water entities in an effort to better align land and water conservation.
We developed our bill based on feedback from the conservation community and landowners over the years. Now, in a year when conservation solutions are especially poignant, we are grateful to the Colorado Legislature for enacting policy that progresses conservation efforts we know Coloradans support.
