News

Each spring, the Land Trust Alliance mobilizes conservation leaders from across the country to gather in Washington, D.C., meet with legislators, and elevate the voice of the land conservation community. Unsurprisingly, this year’s Advocacy Days took on a different tone.

Aaron Lefland, CLCC’s Deputy Director, and Colin Piteo, Sandy Breslin Conservation Fellow, traveled to the nation’s capital last week, joined by Shelley Harms of the Norfolk Land Trust and Sharon Lynch of the Avalonia Land Conservancy, to meet with Connecticut’s congressional delegation. In contrast to past years, the tone of the meetings reflected a shared sense of uncertainty and frustration. While our delegation remains supportive of conservation, conversations often felt more like moments of mutual concern than opportunities for action—marked by questions without clear answers amid widespread cuts and agency upheaval.

We met with staff from Senators Murphy and Blumenthal’s offices, as well as Representatives Hayes, DeLauro, Larson, and Courtney. Across the board, these leaders affirmed their ongoing support for land conservation and expressed deep concern about the sweeping, haphazard cuts currently being proposed across the federal government, including to essential conservation programs administered by Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and others.

We shared key messages during our visits, including:

• The need to pass the Farm Bill, including robust funding for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and Regional Conservation Partnership Program. As demand for these programs grows, funding and agency capacity must keep pace. In Connecticut, we’ve seen firsthand how staffing shortages at NRCS are slowing project implementation and undermining the viability of programs, especially those funded through the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Support for the Forest Conservation Easement Program, a new program that better meets the needs of states like Connecticut, where forests are more prevalent than farmland and face significant development pressure.
• Protection of the Conservation Easement Integrity Act, which guards against the abuse of federal tax incentives for conservation and ensures that private land conservation remains a credible and lasting tool.
• Continued investment in the Highlands Conservation Act, which has enabled critical projects in northwest Connecticut, many of which are now at risk due to funding uncertainty and reduced staffing at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Opposition to legislation that would limit the duration of conservation easements, undermining the very principle of perpetual land protection.

Through every conversation, we emphasized the unique situation in Connecticut: though we lack expansive federal lands, every federal dollar we do receive is matched by state and private sources, multiplying its impact. With the state struggling to meet its open space goals, federal funding is not just helpful—it’s essential, and it pays dividends.

One consistent request we heard from congressional staff was for concrete, local examples of how these federal changes are impacting land trusts and conservation efforts on the ground. If your land trust has been affected—by staffing shortages, delayed reimbursements, changing program rules, or any other disruption—we want to hear from you. Your stories are invaluable as we advocate for meaningful support and sensible policies that reflect the realities of land conservation in Connecticut.

We’re deeply grateful to our federal delegation for standing up for conservation in these uncertain times. And we thank Shelley and Sharon for lending their voices and perspectives as trusted local land trust leaders.

As always, CLCC remains committed to ensuring that Connecticut’s land trusts are seen, heard, and supported at every level of government.