Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act
Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act would expand the Forest Legacy Program by allowing States to designate qualified third-party organizations to acquire, hold, and manage conservation easements on forestland. The Secretary would authorize States to approve eligible organizations to participate in the Forest Legacy Program, provided these organizations meet specific criteria (including accreditation and compliance history). The bill also creates conditions under which a conservation easement held by such an organization could revert to the State or to another approved organization if certain problems arise, and it updates some cross-references and terminology to reflect this added flexibility. The overall intent is to broaden the capable stewardship network for Forest Legacy easements while maintaining safeguards around eligibility, monitoring, and reversion. In practical terms, the bill could enable more rapid or geographically diverse management of conservation easements by leveraging accredited, qualified nonprofit or similar organizations, rather than relying solely on state agencies. It emphasizes accountability through reversion provisions and requires participating organizations to meet standards tied to federal tax designation, conservation purpose, enforcement capability, and formal accreditation.
Key Points
- 1New authority for states to approve third-party organizations to acquire, hold, and manage Forest Legacy conservation easements upon request, expanding who can participate in the program.
- 2Eligibility criteria for qualified organizations, including: ownership of IRS 170(h)-qualified status, ongoing conservation purpose, absence of certain enforcement actions, and ongoing accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission or an approved successor.
- 3Reversion provisions allow easement rights to terminate and revert to the State or another approved organization if the organization cannot fulfill duties, if the easement is modified inconsistently with program purposes or the need assessment, or if the easement is conveyed to an unapproved party.
- 4Clarifications and technical corrections to the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, including cross-reference updates and renaming of the appropriation header to “Authorization of Appropriations.”
- 5State need assessments must be respected, with the Secretary approving the participating third-party organization’s activities in line with the state’s assessment of need.