The job side of saving the land

I was in Washington last week trying to make the case that conservation should be a funding priority in the federal budget, and that this is necessary rather than simply nice to do. In other years, I might have lead with the many, tangible benefits of open space preservation for the environment and human health and well-being. This time it was all about jobs and direct benefits for the local economy.Every time someone decides to permanently protect their land, either through transferring ownership to a conservation entity or by granting a conservation easement, it requires professional services and employs local people. Surveyors, accountants, attorneys, appraisers, foresters, land managers (and yes, even conservation professionals like me) are routinely involved in such real estate transactions. Land protection projects help diversify rural livelihoods, and in some cases make it possible for those who provide these services to live and work locally. Especially when the market slows for other types of real estate transactions, land protection provides a welcome source of income.Many of our communities are highly desirable places to live, work and recreate because there has been a longstanding investment in protecting what is most significant about our landscape and rural character. Locally grown food, outstanding recreational opportunities and many local businesses depend on a quality of life that open space protection helps to sustain. Growing up in Dutchess County, N.Y., I can remember the days when towns like Amenia and Millerton were really struggling. Today they both are undergoing a transformation driven by the convergence of better rail connections with Manhattan, regional treasures like the Harlem Valley Rail Trail and Taconic State Park and a significant amount of farmland and forest conservation by private and public conservation entities.Federal land protection efforts like the Forest Legacy Program and the Highlands Conservation Act are funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which does not receive a penny from our personal income taxes. Instead, it is financed from a fraction of the revenue derived from oil leases in federal waters. Over the years, this conservation offset has resulted in approximately $48 million in federal funds coming to Connecticut for land protection projects, including Skiff Mountain and Great Mountain Forest through the Forest Legacy Program, and the Deluca property in Falls Village and Cornwall through the Highlands Conservation Act. Nonetheless, the LWCF is almost never funded to its authorized level, and with funding at particular risk this year, I went to Washington. I noticed that in every office of every congressman I visited, regardless of party affiliation, there were photographs of stunning rural landscapes from their districts, all of which benefit from conservation programs like those supported by the LWCF. They know these are special places for their constituents. Protecting them is also good for the bottom line.Tim Abbott is program director of Housatonic Valley Association’s Litchfield Hills Greenprint. His blog is at greensleeves.typepad.com.