Capitol Coverage

Nearly a million acres of open space in Colorado has been protected through a popular program that entices landowners to permanently place their land into conservation easements. Landowners are eligible for up to a fifty percent tax break, if they enter into such a contract. But lately there have been abuses to that system, with some landowners grossly over-valuing their land. It’s brought a swarm of bad publicity to a program that some see as the last means of protecting land from eager developers. The state House Finance Committee yesterday took up a bill that would bring more oversight to the easement program, but not abolish it outright. KUNC’s Kirk Siegler reports from Denver.