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<br />COMMON GROUND VOL. 13 NO. 1 JANUARY -MARCH 2002
<br />The Conservation Fund
<br />Vital Statistics
<br />Land protected by TCF
<br />and partners, 2001:
<br />Acres protected: 302,349
<br />Est. value: $284,420,256
<br />Cumulative land protected,
<br />1985 -2001, by TCF and
<br />partners:
<br />Acres protected: 3,252,362
<br />Est. value: $1,624,603,864
<br />TCF's average annual fund-
<br />raising expense:
<br />17o of total income
<br />The Conservation Fund
<br />is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
<br />organization established to
<br />advance land and water
<br />conservation in America.
<br />The Fund is a member of
<br />Earth Share and participates
<br />in the Combined Federal
<br />Campaign as #0930.
<br />O.Earth Share
<br />Conservation leadership
<br />Courses
<br />"Gateway Communities:
<br />Keys to Success," interactive
<br />TV workshop, Feb. 27.
<br />Contact Anne Desmarais,
<br />703/525-6300.
<br />"GIS Design for Regional
<br />Conservation Planning,"
<br />March 11 -15 and Nov. 18 -22,
<br />Shepherdstown, W.Va.
<br />304/876-7452.
<br />"The Practice of Environmen-
<br />tally Sensitive Development,"
<br />March 21 -22, Orlando, Fla.;
<br />April 11 -12, Chicago, Ill.;
<br />and April 29 -30, Vienna, Va.
<br />800/321-5011.
<br />"Green Infrastructure: A
<br />Strategic Approach to Green
<br />Space Planning and Conser-
<br />vation," May 14 -16,
<br />Chicago, Ill. 304/876-7462.
<br />4
<br />It better rain in California: As the nation's
<br />most populous state (pop. 34.5 million) pre-
<br />pares for another 11 million residents by
<br />2020, water supply becomes more crucial by
<br />the day. Gov. Gray Davis recently signed a
<br />bill (SB 221) that for the first time directly
<br />links water supply and land use planning.
<br />The new law bars cities or counties from
<br />approving residential subdivisions of more
<br />than 500 units unless there is written verifi-
<br />cation that enough water will be available
<br />for the development. The law goes a step
<br />further than a 1995 act that requires planning
<br />agencies to consider information provided by
<br />water suppliers in their decision whether to
<br />approve new development. Under the 1995
<br />law, planners can ignore the information and
<br />approve a development if they wish. The
<br />500 -unit trigger originally was set at 200 but
<br />was raised to gain legislators' approval.
<br />Keep in mind that the proposed Newhall
<br />Ranch project in Santa Clarita in Los Angeles
<br />County would create 21,600 homes and at-
<br />tract 65,000 residents, the largest develop-
<br />ment project in county history.
<br />FWS, BLM directors confirmed: The Senate
<br />approved the nomination of Kathleen Clarke
<br />as director of the Bureau of Land Manage-
<br />ment on Dec. 21. Since 1998, Clarke served as
<br />executive director of the Utah Department of
<br />Natural Resources and deputy director from
<br />1993 to 1998. The Senate also confirmed
<br />Steven Williams as director of the Fish and
<br />Wildlife Service on Jan. 29. Williams has di-
<br />rected the Kansas Department of Wildlife
<br />and Parks since 1995. Born in Vermont, he
<br />also worked for state fish and wildlife agen-
<br />cies in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
<br />Little warm? The global average surface
<br />temperature in 2001 is expected to be the sec-
<br />ond warmest on record, just behind 1998.
<br />Nine of the 10 warmest years since 1860 have
<br />occurred since 1990, according to the World
<br />Meteorological Organization (www.wmo.ch).
<br />Although global temperatures have risen
<br />more than 1.08° F during the past 100 years,
<br />the rise hasn't been steady. Since 1976, the
<br />global average has risen three times faster
<br />than the century -long trend. And 2001 was
<br />the 23rd consecutive year with the global
<br />mean surface temperature above the 1961-
<br />1990 average. In central England, where sur-
<br />face temperatures have been kept for 343
<br />years, October 2001 was the warmest ever.
<br />S M A L L
<br />Get outside: More than 7070 of Americans
<br />said that outdoor leisure activities are more
<br />effective in reducing personal stress than
<br />indoor activities, according to a 50 -state
<br />survey conducted by RT Neilson for Recre-
<br />ational Equipment Inc. (rei.com). Nine in 10
<br />people said that spending leisure time out-
<br />doors lifted their spirits, the October survey
<br />of 1,000 households found. Other findings:
<br />Of the 7070 who planned outdoor activities
<br />over the recent holidays, one -third said they
<br />planned to spend more time outdoors than
<br />the previous year. And 7570 strongly agreed
<br />that engaging in outdoor activities is a good
<br />way to build family relationships.
<br />Recycling land: More than 112,000 acres
<br />(175 square miles) of contaminated land in
<br />the U.S. are being redeveloped, according to
<br />the second annual ECS Land Reuse Report
<br />(ecsinc.com, 800/327- 1414). California,
<br />Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York,
<br />Pennsylvania and Wisconsin had the most
<br />sites planned for or under redevelopment,
<br />according to ECS Inc., an environmental
<br />insurer, and the International Economic
<br />Development Council (iedconline.org, 202/
<br />223 - 7800), an association of economic and
<br />community development professionals. In-
<br />dustrial use of recycled land dropped to 2170
<br />from 3870 last year, replaced by a higher pro-
<br />portion of mixed uses, office, residential and
<br />cultural and recreational uses.
<br />Growth management in Colorado: Gov. Bill
<br />Owens signed several growth management
<br />bills in November approved in a special ses-
<br />sion of the state General Assembly. The two
<br />most significant laws: House Bill 1006 for the
<br />first time requires high - population and fast -
<br />growing counties to create comprehensive
<br />land use plans. One caveat: The plans aren't
<br />binding. The counties can ignore them. Sen-
<br />ate Bill 15 gives counties and all cities —not
<br />just home rule cities like Denver —the au-
<br />thority to assess impact fees to pay for infra-
<br />structure, such as roads and sewers, that
<br />serve new development. Two bills that
<br />didn't make it to the governor's desk which
<br />legislators may revisit this year: one to make
<br />binding the new county comprehensive
<br />plans and a second requiring the six - county
<br />Denver metro region to develop a regional
<br />plan that would be binding on all local gov-
<br />ernments once two - thirds of the affected lo-
<br />cal governments approve it.
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