[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 87 (Thursday, June 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6780-S6781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING A GREAT COLORADAN

 Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I wish to recognize the work of a 
great Coloradan, Randy Rusk, and share some thoughts about the role 
that conservation easements can play in protecting Colorado's open 
spaces and rural way of life.
  Mr. Rusk was recently named one of ``15 People Who Make America 
Great'' by Newsweek Magazine for the contributions he has made to the 
protection of Colorado's Wet Mountain Valley. The Wet Mountain Valley 
is near my own San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. It is known for 
its lush pastures, for the jagged mountains that flank it, and for the 
men and women who ranch its lands.
  Mr. Rusk's family raises cattle on their 1,500 acres, but it would be 
a prime setting for second homes, 35-acre ranchettes, or a subdivision. 
Clearly he could sell his land to a developer if money was his primary 
concern, but Mr. Rusk would rather that his grandchildren be able to 
enjoy and work the ranch as he has.
  As someone who comes from a ranching family, I can tell you, that 
ranchers generally don't like to be told what they can or can't do on 
their lands. But Mr. Rusk decided that the best way to protect his land 
was to put its development rights in a trust. With a conservation 
easement on his land, he can be certain that the property will remain 
intact in perpetuity.
  Mr. Rusk has taken this idea beyond his own ranch and has convinced 
other ranchers in the Wet Mountain Valley to place conservation 
easements on their land, too. Some get reimbursed for parting with 
their land's development rights, while others simply donate them. 
Thanks to Mr. Rusk's leadership, around 11,000 acres of the Wet 
Mountain Valley will be protected from development.

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  Knowing how useful conservation easements are to ranchers and farmers 
across Colorado how much good they have done for preserving our open 
lands and rural way of life, I am troubled by proposals that would 
punish those who use conservation easements to protect their lands.
  Our current tax law says that donated conservation easements can be 
claimed as a deduction. This is how it should be. If a rancher donates 
development rights to a nonprofit, to be held in trust, he or she 
should be able to claim a Federal tax deduction. This deduction, in 
conjunction with State and local incentives, is a valuable tool in 
protecting Colorado's natural heritage.
  There have been some instances of fraud in the use of conservation 
easements. The IRS should punish those responsible and Congress should 
explore ways of tightening up our laws to avoid abuses of the system. 
But, by and large, those who place easements on their lands are like 
Randy Rusk, and they do so for the right reasons.
  Mr. President, I am proud of the innovative ways that Coloradans are 
finding to protect open spaces, strengthen rural economies, and 
continue traditional ways of life. We have a common interest in 
supporting the work of ranchers like Mr. Rusk, whose stewardship of his 
lands yields benefits for all of us. I encourage this body to stand 
behind these wise conservation practices by protecting the Federal tax 
deduction for conservation easements.

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