In order to preserve and protect land for future generations, we engage with our elected leaders to encourage sound and responsible policy.
Our policy priorities reflect the need to accelerate the pace of voluntary private land conservation while recognizing the important economic contribution of our community.
Lookout Mountain Comprehensive Conservation Study
We work to ensure the national Farm Bill strengthens and supports land trust policies and efforts. We join the Land Trust Alliance in declaring:
We will also continue to advocate for effective legislation, policies and funding that help farmers, ranchers, foresters and other working landowners deliver the many benefits they provide to rural communities and local economies across America.
learn more about the farm billWe work to ensure our elected representatives are expanding the resources needed in the fight against land loss while creating future-forward opportunities for sustained and holistic resource protection. As the Land Trust Alliance states:
Conservation funding programs protect land that offers exceptional public benefits like parks and public lands, productive farms and ranches, healthy watersheds and vital wildlife habitat. The Alliance leads efforts in Washington, D.C., to maintain and increase public funding for land conservation.
learn more about conservation FundingWe join the Land Trust Alliance in advocating for “tax policies that advance land conservation and inoculate conservation donations and tax credits from harm.” This occurs at the state and federal levels. Lookout Mountain Conservancy joins the Land Trust Alliance in stating:
State and federal tax policies can play a large role in advancing land conservation. While tax incentives for voluntary private land conservation have proven to be successful, helping land trusts to protect more than 60 million acres nationwide, they have also led to major policy issues for our community.
Learn more about tax issuesLand trusts are positioned as key leaders in creating and implementing solutions at the local, regional and national levels. Lookout Mountain Conservancy joins the Land Trust Alliance in its declaration:
Land trusts can lead the way in addressing the impacts of a changing climate. Our goal is to promote policies and funding that advance nature-based solutions while supporting the protection, restoration and stewardship of natural and working lands that increase climate resilience.
Learn more about energy solutionsData Centers and the Environment:
LMC joins the Land Trust Alliance in its concern that “electricity-hungry data centers” are threatening “lands with high conservation, recreational, and agricultural value — including family farms and ranches — and the numerous benefits they provide, such as clean drinking water, healthy food, and clean air.” While we understand that data centers are necessary for economic growth and technological innovation, we believe that their construction and location should be done in an environmentally responsible way. Please join LMC and the Land Trust Alliance in advocating for the following measures:
* Explicit protections for already conserved lands and lands with high conservation or agricultural values
*Require energy- and water-efficient technologies to the greatest extent possible
*Prioritize renewable and clean energy like wind and solar over fossil fuels
*Ensure that local governments and developers provide robust outreach and engagement to impacted communities during the permitting process
*Ensure that the costs of building data centers and their associated energy infrastructure are not passed on to consumers
To learn more about data centers and their potential harm to local communities, click here.
To learn more about data centers and the AI boom, click here.
Data Center Lawsuit in Bradley County, TN
Lookout Mountain Conservancy advocates for the residents and local officials of Bradley County as they seek to protect their community and natural resources from the planned construction of two data centers: Project River and Project Midspan. The Bradley County Commission unanimously voted to restrict these facilities to the county’s I-2 Special Impact Industrial District. They also mandated that a vital 3,000-foot buffer zone exist between data centers and Bradley County schools, homes, and churches, and any property zoned for forestry, agricultural or residential use. These efforts, however, are currently being challenged by a New York-based developer, SDCL, who is suing Bradley County in order to build Project Midspan, a 300-acre data center behind Walker Valley High School. We encourage you to learn more and advocate for our neighbors in Bradley County by visiting the links below.
Chattanoogan.com: Bradley Mayor Says County Gets "Concerning" New Data Center Application Behind Walker Valley High
Local 3 News: UPDATE: Bradley Co. mayor plans to fight data center lawsuit despite no insurance coverage
Bradley County Sheriff’s Facebook post
Court Case Filing – SDCL Tennessee Propco, LLC v. Bradley County, TN
2026 Farm Bill:
LMC supports the passage of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act, often referred to as the 2026 Farm Bill, or HR 7567. This bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to safeguard our agricultural lands, private forests, and wetlands from development. It gives land trusts and landowners the tools they need to keep our natural heritage intact for the next century. Please join us in supporting this bipartisan effort to ensure our rural economies stay strong and our landscapes stay green! Urge your elected officials to support the 2026 Farm Bill.
To read more about the 2026 Farm Bill, click here.
To contact your local representative, click here.
Attainable Housing:
Lookout Mountain Conservancy supports the investment in attainable housing developments to bring about the homes our community needs most. Strategically developing attainable housing within existing urban footprints reduces sprawl, thereby conserving vital green spaces and natural habitats on the urban periphery. This integrated approach prioritizes efficient land use and lessens the need to develop pristine environmental areas. You can visit the websites below to support and learn more about attainable housing in your community.
*Invest Chattanooga
*Chattanooga Land Bank Authority
*PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes)
*HOME (Home Investment Partnership Program)
*CALEB (Chattanoogans in Action for Love, Equality, and Benevolence)
year Lookout Mountain Conservancy.