§2. Authority of States to allow qualified organizations to acquire, hold, and manage conservation easements under the Forest Legacy Program
This section revises the Forest Legacy Program—established to protect environmentally important forest areas threatened by conversion to nonforest uses through conservation easements and other interests in land—to authorize any state (previously, only Vermont) to approve qualified organizations to acquire, hold, and manage such easements. It establishes eligibility criteria for qualified organizations (i.e., those meeting specified tax code conservation standards, without certain enforcement actions, and holding Land Trust Accreditation Commission status); reversion procedures if organizations fail to meet program responsibilities, easements are improperly modified or conveyed, or other conditions occur; and a definition of qualified organization. The section also makes technical and conforming amendments, including cross-reference updates and header revisions.