Who We Are
Partnership for Conservation (P4C) is a diverse, national coalition of stakeholders working to expand conservation support for a cleaner, healthier environment. Our members include individuals, private companies, land trusts, and both conservation and environmentally focused groups. We are committed to supporting the highest professional standards in land conservation.
Conservation Easements
A conservation easement is a voluntary restriction placed on a property that forever provides protection and conservation. In order to make a conservation easement donation, a landowner must agree to permanently restrict the development of their property by donating the development rights to a land trust. As a result of the charitable contribution of the conservation easement, the landowner may receive a tax deduction through Section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code. For the past 40 years, conservation easement donations by private landowners have been instrumental in conserving and protecting tens of millions of acres in the United States. In 2015, to further incentivize landowners to make the choice to conserve property, Congress made the enhanced easement incentive permanent which increased the value of the federal tax benefit for these charitable contributions.
Our Guiding Principles
- Integrity: We stand for the highest level of integrity and best practices in private land conservation through conservation easement donations as encouraged by Federal and State law.
- Education: We conduct outreach to help decision makers and the public understand the importance and success of conservation easement donations.
- Innovation: We work to align our economy with our environment to accelerate conservation outcomes. In the face of a changing climate and growing population, traditional land conservation practices alone cannot keep pace with the need to conserve lands for the preservation of wildlife habitat, water and air quality, and parks and green space for people.
- Stewardship: We recognize that the earth and our resources are merely a “loan” to current generations. As such, it is our responsibility to ensure that we pass to future generations a sustainable planet.
P4C Goals
We conduct outreach to help educate decision makers and the public about the importance and success of conservation easement donations. We advocate for the effective, fair and compliant implementation of land conservation under Federal rules, with the objective of maximizing the conservation of land to benefit future generations.
