For Immediate Release Monday, December 10, 2007	CONTACT: Stephanie Valencia (Salazar) – 202-228-3630 Steve Wymer (Allard) 202-224-6207
Allard & Salazar Urge IRS to Crackdown on Alleged Abuse of Conservation Easements in State/ Want to Ensure Colorado’s Conservation Tradition is Retained WASHINGTON, D.C. – United States Senators Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar wrote a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today highlighting two points regarding the investigations into conservation easement transactions in Colorado: That the Senators strongly support the effort to identify and deal with abusive conservation easement transactions and with those who promote them; and Their desire to see a swift and just resolution to the majority of the pending investigations into conservation easement donations in Colorado. In an effort to ensure the resolution to the ongoing investigations is both timely and fair, Senators Allard and Salazar made two requests of the IRS: (1) that the IRS extend the deadline for responding to its recent settlement offers by an additional 30 days, and (2) that the IRS provide information to the Senators' offices. In their letter the Senators highlighted the fact that, “Colorado is the singular national leader in land conservation. This record has been bolstered in recent years through a commitment by local and state governments to utilize programs, such as Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), that provide mechanisms to purchase lands for the open space, parks, and trails we all enjoy.” Additionally, the Senators said, "We strongly support the effort to identify and deal with abusive transactions and with those who promote them. We want to see a swift and just resolution to the pending investigations into conservation easement donations in Colorado." The full text of the Senators’ letter is available by clicking here. # # #