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For information, contact Meg Ryan O'Donnell at smartgrowth @mindspring.com or call (919) 836.5261 Farm and Open Space Preservation Work Group Adopted by the Legislative Commission to Address Smart Growth, Growth Management and Development Issues — January i19, 2001 Work Group Vision North Carolina must promote a flexible, incentive- oriented, community - based, state - supported approach to preserving and protecting open space. The state's open space resources include parks, water supply watersheds, active farming and forestry operations, wetlands and floodplains, historic sites, gamelands, and many other significant natural, recreational, and cultural features. A priority should be placed on protecting those natural areas that playa vital role in protecting the. environment and our economy. Measures to preserve the benefits of open space for present and future generations should support private stewardship and respect private property rights. Purpose The goal of the work group was to understand existing state, local and private- sector policies, programs, and organizations that affect farms, forestry and other aspects of open space preservation in North Carolina. The work group heard from those responsible for program implementation and from individuals who utilized and/or benefited from a program. Other states' approaches and programs were also reviewed. The work group examined the relationship of open space to water and air quality, sedimentation and erosion, economic viability of agriculture, hazard mitigation, preservation of cultural values, and quality of life. Principles North Carolina has an obligation to protect its natural resources. Article XIV, Section 5 of the North Carolina Constitution states: "It shall be the policy of this State to conserve and protect its lands and waters for the benefit of all its citizenry, and to this end it shall be a proper function of the State of North Carolina and its political subdivisions to acquire and preserve park, recreational, and scenic areas, to control and limit the pollution of our air and water, to control excessive noise, and in every other appropriate way to preserve as a part of the common heritage of this State its forests, wetlands, estuaries, beaches, historical sites, openlands, and-places of beauty." North Carolina has a commitment to protect its natural resources. GS 113A -240, enacted in 2000 to support the initiative to preserve one million acres, states: "It is the intent of the General Assembly to continue to support and accelerate the state's programs of land conservation and protection, to find means to assure and increase funding for these programs, and to improve the coordination, efficiency, and implementation of the various state and local land protection programs operating in North Carolina." ■ Open space is integral to the lives and culture of North Carolinians.