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AMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST
<br />owned agricultural land is a critical resource
<br />for wildlife habitat.
<br />With nearly 1 billion acres of land in farms,
<br />agriculture is America's dominant land use.
<br />So it is not surprising that farming has a sig-
<br />nificant ecological impact. Ever since the
<br />publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring,
<br />environmentalists have called attention to the
<br />negative impacts of industrial agricultural
<br />practices. However, converting farmland to
<br />development has detrimental long -term
<br />impacts on environmental quality.
<br />Water pollution from urban development is
<br />well documented.' Development increases
<br />pollution of rivers and streams, as well as the
<br />risk of flooding. Paved roads and roofs col-
<br />lect and pass storm water directly into drains
<br />instead of filtering it naturally through the
<br />soil." Septic systems for low- density subdivi-
<br />sions can add untreated wastes to surface
<br />water and groundwater — potentially yielding
<br />higher nutrient loads than livestock opera -
<br />tions.12 Development often produces more
<br />sediment and heavy metal contamination
<br />than farming does and increases pollutants —
<br />such as road salt, oil leaks from automobiles
<br />and runoff from lawn chemicals —that lead
<br />to groundwater contamination." It also
<br />decreases recharge of aquifers, lowers drink-
<br />ing -water quality and reduces biodiversity in
<br />streams.
<br />Urban development is a significant cause of
<br />wetland loss." Between 1992 and 1997, NRI
<br />showed that development was responsible for
<br />49 percent of the total loss. Increased use of
<br />automobiles leads to traffic congestion and
<br />air pollution. Development fragments and
<br />often destroys wildlife habitat, and fragmen-
<br />tation is considered a principal threat to
<br />biodiversity.ts
<br />Keeping land available for agriculture while
<br />improving farm management practices offers
<br />the greatest potential to produce or regain
<br />environmental and social benefits while mini-
<br />mizing negative impacts. From wetland
<br />management to on -farm composting for
<br />-c....
<br />FARMLAND INFORMATION CENTER
<br />municipalities, farmers are finding ways to
<br />improve environmental quality.
<br />HERITAGE AND COMMUNITY
<br />CHARACTER
<br />To many people, the most compelling reasons
<br />for saving farmland are local and personal, and
<br />much of the political support for farmland pro-
<br />tection is driven by grassroots community
<br />efforts. Sometimes the most important qualities
<br />are the hardest to quantify —such as local her-
<br />itage and sense of place. Farm and ranch land
<br />maintain scenic, cultural and historic land-
<br />scapes. Their managed open spaces provide
<br />beautiful views and opportunities for hunting
<br />and fishing, horseback riding, skiing, dirt -bik-
<br />ing and other recreational activities. Farms and
<br />ranches create identifiable and unique commu-
<br />nity character and add to the quality of life.
<br />Perhaps it is for these reasons that the contin-
<br />gent valuation studies typically find that people
<br />are willing to pay to protect agricultural land
<br />from development.
<br />Finally, farming is an integral part of our her-
<br />itage and our identity as a people. American
<br />democracy is rooted in an agricultural past and
<br />founded on the principle that all people can
<br />own property and earn a living from the land.
<br />The ongoing relationship with the agricultural
<br />landscape connects Americans to history and
<br />to the natural world. Our land is our legacy,
<br />both as we look back to the past and as we
<br />consider what we have of value to pass on to
<br />future generations.
<br />Public awareness of the multiple benefits of
<br />working lands has led to greater community
<br />appreciation of the importance of keeping land
<br />open for fiscal, economic and environmental
<br />reasons. As a result, people increasingly are
<br />challenging the perspective that new develop-
<br />ment is necessarily the most desirable use of
<br />agricultural land— especially in rural communi-
<br />ties and communities undergoing transition
<br />from rural to suburban.
<br />ENDNOTES
<br />' Agriculture and the Rural Economy:
<br />Urbanization Affects a Large Share of
<br />Farmland. Rural Conditions and
<br />Trends, Vol. 10, Number 2, July 200C
<br />http:/www.ers.usda-gov/epubs/pdf/rcai
<br />/rcat102/rcat102k.pdf.
<br />' U.S. Department of Housing and
<br />Urban Development, State of the
<br />Cities 2000, Fourth Annual, June 2000 .
<br />h tt p:/ /w ww. h u d.gov/l i b ra ryfb o o k-
<br />shelf18 /pressrel/socrpt.pdf; Internet.
<br />' Development at the Urban Fringe and
<br />Beyond: Impacts on Agriculture and
<br />Rural Land. Ralph E. Heimlich and
<br />William D. Anderson. Economic
<br />Research Service, USDA. Agricultural
<br />Economic Report No. 803. p.14.
<br />` The Food and Fiber System:
<br />Contributing to U.S. and World
<br />Economics. Kathryn Lipton, William
<br />Edmondson and Alden Manchester.
<br />ERS, USDA. Agriculture Information
<br />Bulletin No. 742. July 1998.
<br />' U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical
<br />Abstract of the United States 2001.
<br />p.S3S.
<br />` The World at Six Billion; United
<br />Nations Population Division; p.3.
<br />' Heimlich, op cit.
<br />' Making the Case for Land
<br />Conservation: Fifteen Years of Cost
<br />of Community Services Studies.
<br />Freedgood, Julia. American Farmland
<br />Trust. Northampton, Mass., 2002.
<br />' Community Choices: Thinking
<br />Through Land Conservation,
<br />Development, and Property Taxes in
<br />Massachusetts. Deb Brighton.
<br />Boston, Mass.: The Trust for Public
<br />Land, 1999.
<br />10 New Research on Population,
<br />Suburban Sprawl and Smart Growth.
<br />sierraclub.org/sprawl.
<br />"The Costs of Sprawl: Environmental
<br />and Economic Costs of Alternative
<br />Development Patterns at the Urban
<br />Fringe. Real Estate Research
<br />Corporation. U.S. Government
<br />Printing Office. Washington D.C.
<br />1974. Development on the Urban
<br />Fringe and Beyond, op cit. Impact
<br />Assessment of New Jersey Interim
<br />State Development and
<br />Redevelopment Plan, Report 11.
<br />Robert W. Burchell. N.J. Office of
<br />State Planning. Trenton, N.J. 1992.
<br />"Septic Tanks, Lot Size and Pollution
<br />of Water Table Aquifers. R.J. Perkins.
<br />Journal of Environmental Health 46
<br />(6).1984.
<br />"Nitrate- Nitrogcn Losses to Ground
<br />Water from Rural and Suburban
<br />Land Uses. A. J. Gold, et al. Journal
<br />of Soil and Water Conservation.
<br />March April 1990. Results of the
<br />Nationwide Urban Runoff Program,
<br />Volume 1 - Final Report. U.S.
<br />Environmental Protection Agency.
<br />Washington, D.C. 1983.
<br />" Development on the Urban Fringe and
<br />Beyond, op cit. The Costs of Sprawl.
<br />Maine State Planning Office. 1997.
<br />" Development on the Urban Fringe
<br />and Beyond, op cit. Preserving
<br />Communities and Corridors. G.
<br />Mackintosh, ed. Defenders of
<br />Wildlife. Washington, D.C. 1989.
<br />Saving Nature's Legacy. R.F. Noss
<br />and A.Y. Cooperrider. Island Press.
<br />Washington, D.C. 1994.
<br />American Farmland Trust works to stop the loss of productive farmland and promote farming practices that lead to a Am=r=Fatm&ndTrua
<br />healthy environment.
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