Land Conservation. Is it important

Bethel is a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family. It is also a town blessed with natural beauty, full of natural resources and rich in history. But what kind of town will we leave our children and our grandchildren?

The historical development of Bethel has been closely tied to its physical landscape. The region’s fertile soil, unique climate, and glacial topography, along with water resources all strongly influenced the economic growth of the area. Despite a general economic shift away from agriculture and toward

the manufacturing and service sectors, the ecological services and aesthetic value of the area’s physical landscape remain important to Bethel and its residents.

Shall we leave our grandchildren a Bethel defined by urban sprawl? Development continues to threaten Bethels’ natural and agricultural landscape. Municipal cooperation and the efforts of non-governmental entities like the Bethel Land Trust  are  important in the establishment of successful and lasting conservation programs.

Bethel has acknowledged this challenge and begun to address it through comprehensive planning efforts. However, I have seen these efforts have  at times, been disjointed and sometimes overshadowed by instances of inter- municipal competition.  I would ask that those who are running for public election or are up for re-election read our Bethel’s, “Plan of Conservation and Development”. You inherent the responsibility of maintaining our town’s its natural beauty. Not to do so may keep the town of its path to urban sprawl.

Of all land resources, scenic resources are the most widely recognized and appreciated by the public. Scenic resources provide inspiration to present and future generations, reduce stress and enhance physical and psychological well-being, and are a critical part of economic development and tourism. Moreover, scenic resources integrate other important resources, such as unique habitat types, agricultural lands, and water bodies.2 Areas where scenic and natural resources overlap are prime candidates for conservation. The ability to justify conservation decisions is important when a land trust chooses to protect a piece of land. Why the concern for sprawl? Sprawl degrade wildlife habitat, threaten agricultural productivity, and increase public service and infrastructure costs.

•    Each acre of swamps, wetlands and floodplains provide natural (and

free) water filtration, supply & treatment benefits that would cost up to $90,000 per year to provide otherwise?

Protecting our Natural and Cultural Resources

The conservation of land resources is essential to both the public well-being and the economic viability of Bethel and will continue to become more difficult in the future with increasing population. Some of the impacts due to the loss of open space lands are:

•    Increased runoff and degraded water quality.

•    Loss of tree canopy, affecting ecosystems, temperatures, and soil stability.

•    Lack of open space, affecting the functional capacity of the area’s green infrastructure.

•    Loss of land for outdoor activities, especially those that require large parcels of land.

•    Declining air quality, which impacts scenery and human health and leads to increased EPA regulations that discourage future commercial and transportation development.

Land conversion to developed areas alters traditional viewsheds and cultural landscapes.

Once lost to development, open space is impossible or difficult to retrieve and the long-term costs can be immense. Open space can be described as a "non-depreciating, non-reproducible asset with increasing benefits over time."

Loss of open space and its environmental functions and components, especially biodiversity, means a reduction in that community's range of assets.

Enhancement Value

Open space and the environmental services flowing from it enhances property values for neighboring land. Proximity to parks in urban areas has been shown to account for up to 15 - 20% of a property's value, according to the National Association of Homebuilders (Caputo).

Enhancement values appear to more than compensate for any losses due to adjusted taxation for the open space.

Protecting Local Economic Values

Studies demonstrate that open spaces can boost the value of neighboring commercial properties. Businesses seeking an area in which to locate report that quality of life is a major factor in their decision-making, and cultural and recreational open spaces are important components in creating that quality of life.

Protected land generally enhances the value of nearby residential property. In most cases, home buyers prefer a view of a forest or meadow to a similar home with a view of developed property, and will be more likely to purchase if that view is guaranteed to remain in place. Recognizing this concept, many local governments strongly support land conservation, understanding that protected, undeveloped land generates more direct tax revenue than the services it requires, and that residential development typically brings in less revenue than it costs to provide support services. In addition, the increased value of properties near preserved lands means increased revenue to localities from permanent protection of green

Protecting Water Quality

The condition of the landscape has a direct and highly significant impact on water quality. A naturally vegetated landscape provides the greatest benefits for water quality. Undeveloped lands, especially forests, filter both surface water and groundwater. Developed lands are predominantly impervious [paved] surfaces like sidewalks, buildings, and parking that do not allow water to filter directly into the ground. Water that cannot soak into the ground flows over the land surface, eventually ending up in a waterway.

The Cost of a Clean Bay: Assessing Funding Needs Throughout the Watershed, a 2003 report from the Chesapeake Bay Commission, noted that the services provided by natural systems in retaining and filtering pollutants cannot be underestimated, from either an environmental or economic perspective. A study of urban tree loss in the D.C. metropolitan region by the American Forests calculated the pollution control benefits provided by its existing urban forest. The metropolitan D.C. area’s trees remove 20 million pounds of pollutants from the air each year, a benefit worth $50 million annually. The ability of trees to absorb stormwater, lessen erosion and reduce flooding was also analyzed. Urban trees were estimated to retain 949 million cubic feet of water. If these trees were lost and replaced by impervious surfaces, building equivalent retention facilities would cost the region $4.7 billion.

Costs of Not Conserving Open-Space Land

A number of localities have calculated the fiscal impacts associated with different types of land use and found that increased growth brings new area residents who require services — roads, sewage and water-supply infrastructure, fire and police services, schools, libraries, etc. — that increase local government costs at a level greater than the additional local revenue they contribute. “While it is true that an acre of land with a new house generates more total revenue than an acre of hay or corn, this tells us little about a community’s bottom line.” (American Farmland Trust, 2010)  Increased population density in a locality eventually requires increasingly complex public services that increase per capita costs.

Since the cost to a locality to provide services to undeveloped land is relatively low, a net positive tax cash flow is achieved.

A 2012 study in Albemarle County, Virginia, found that, for every dollar of local revenue generated, the public costs for residential and institutional (hospitals, libraries, churches) development range from $1.29 to $1.59, a negative ratio. Commercial and industrial uses have a positive ratio, around $0.50 in costs for every dollar of revenue generated, and farmland generates even greater surplus revenue at $0.20 in costs for every dollar of revenue generated; however, the revenue-cost ratios associated with residential properties create a net deficit for Albemarle County, and for most other localities.

Summary

Through increased revenues generated by agriculture, forestry, tourism, and outdoor recreation, land conservation supports local economies. Conserved open lands also save localities the ongoing costs associated with support-service infrastructure and ensure sustainable working landscapes into the future. As an additional benefit, conserved lands can protect water quality, offsetting costs for managing stormwater and protecting drinking water supplies.