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- Info
Land conservation through public/private partnerships
| Author: |
Endicott, Eve, ed. |
| Date: |
1993 |
| Periodical: |
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Washington, DC: Island Press |
| Abstract: |
This book demonstrates, federal, state, and local governments have found able partners in national nonprofit organizations, and in public and private land trusts, to assist in land protection and acquisition. This book is a comprehensive guide to the complex world of protecting openspaces. It not only catalogues and describes the growing number of actors and methods involved in open space conservation, but it also sets forth useful case studies on how best to structure a wide range of land protection efforts. This book is an invaluable reference for those involved in land protection efforts across the nation. As remaining open areas are lost, we are learning that protecting small or isolated islands of habitat is not enough to provide for healthy populations of wildlife and fish or to preserve biological diversity. Land conservation and management also is playing an increasingly important role in protecting drinking water supplies, controlling water pollution such as urban runoff, and reducing the impact of floods. Because the protection of larger land blocks and watersheds, as well as buffer areas and "green" corridors between parks and protected areas grows more costly and complicated, the partnerships and the creative land acquisition methods that are explored in this book are not only desirable, but essential. As this book illustrates, innovative ways to protect and conserve undeveloped land are being used with increasing frequency. In order to stretch scarce resources, the federal government is placing more emphasis on partnerships and joint ventures. For example, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act authorizes the federal government to provide matching funds for joint ventures to protect waterfowl habitat in the United States and Canada, along with states and nonprofit organizations on both sides of the border. The Act, as described in Chapter 4, has been a tremendous success-financing projects in just two years to restore or protect over 600,000 acres of wetlands-and it is considered a model for far-reaching partnership efforts to protect international resources. Most important, states, national nonprofit organizations, and local groups play a vital role in this effort, and they consistently have exceeded the Act's requirements for nonfederal contributions to match the federal share of costs for conservation projects. Another important topic highlighted in this book is the influence of the tax code when private property owners are trying to decide whether to preserve and protect open spaces and natural resources on their lands. Our tax policy should encourage the preservation of resources important to the public health and environment. To do this, Congress should enact introduced legislation to reduce the federal tax burden of private property owners who dedicate their property for conservation purposes. Private groups, such as those featured in part 1 of this book-The Trust for Public Land, the American Farmland Trust and The Nature Conservancy-play a vital role in federal acquisition efforts by evaluating properties, negotiating with private landowners, and acquiring lands before federal funds are available. In some cases, landowners can take advantage of the tax code's charitable deductions by working with private, nonprofit groups to conserve open spaces. |
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