CRYSTAL LAKE – With a key tax provision set to expire at the end of the year, conservation groups are pushing for permanent tax breaks they say are needed to preserve open space.

Even with the lingering effects of the recession, voluntary land conservation has increased significantly since 2005. But advocates say tax incentives are needed to build on those gains.

The Land Conservancy of McHenry County, a nonprofit group, secured permanent conservation easements on more than 1,900 acres in McHenry County from 2006 to 2010. That's more than five times as many acres as the 257 protected from 1991 to 2005, Executive Director Lisa Haderlein said.