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86 COMMON GROUND VOL , 13 NO , 1 JANUARY-MARCH 2O02 • America ' s We need new, smarter approaches to was little science and even less thinking land conservation to leverage funding and about economic development . There were Network address the accelerating rate at which land is few opportunities for professional develop - being developed . ment . By almost every measure, the work of of Parks In the 1970s, when I began work in con- conservation is becoming more complex . nervation, we protected individual parcels of Conservationists need to understand mar- and Open land . Today, we protect networks of open keting, business planning, real estate and space . Still, too many land conservation ef- tax law, as well as ecology and geographic Sace forts are haphazard and reactive in nature . information systems . We need to build the pSuccessful land conservation must be : capacity of our movement by embracing the • more proactive and less reactive, concepts of training, education and lifelong • more systematic and less haphazard, learning . We also need to educate the public • multifunctional, not single purpose, about the benefits derived from green infra - • large scale, not small scale, and structure . And, we need to attract the best • better integrated with other efforts to and brightest to our field . The final chal- manage growth and development . lenge is people . We must broaden our The key to accomplishing this is " green movement to include more of the young and infrastructure, " a framework that provides a people of color . Our work is fundamentally ioR% "19 strategic approach to land conservation . Just about people—our children and theirs . as growing communities need to upgrade Now is the time for a more strategic and is published quarterly as a and expand their built infrastructure ( roads, comprehensive approach to land conserva - service to the conservation sewers, utilities, etc . ), so too they need to tion . The opportunity is before us to create a community by upgrade and expand their green infrastru & national system of parks and open space The Conservation Fund ture—the network of open space, wood- community by community . Our nation' s 3 . 2 Patrick F. Noonan lands, wildlife habitat, parks and other million miles of rivers and streams provide Lawrence A. Selzer natural areas that sustains clean air, water, a natural framework for America ' s green in- President and natural resources and enriches our qual- frastructure design and—when linked with Mike McQueen ity of life . Green infrastructure repositions working landscapes, farms and forests con- Editor open space protection from a community served by conservation easements—repre - Jack Lynn amenit to a communitynecessity . sent a new era of smart conservation . Editorial Consultant y y Meg West Green infrastructure can help reduce The new measure for smart conserva- Art Director opposition to development . When citizens tion is " acre for acre . " For each acre we For address corrections and think all land is up for grabs, they oppose develop, we protect an acre . We have the information, contact: development everywhere . But when people opportunity to create—community by com- April Berry have some assurance that special places will munity and state by state—a national sys- Circulation Manager be saved, they become more amenable to a & tern of parks and open space that will The Conservation Fund 1800 N . Kent St . , Suite 1120 commodating new development . stretch from " sea to shining sea . " Arlington, VA 22209 When I started in conservation, many of —Patrick F . Noonan 703 / 525-6300 us were winging it . We hadn' t been educated The author is chairitian of the board of directors COMMON GROUND routinely grants permission for reprints . or trained for what we were doing . There of The Collservatiol7 Ftind . Address editorial correspondence and reprint queries to : COMMON GROUND 940 Stillwater Lane _ t Earlysville, VA 22936 434 / 973-7324 coground@)aol . com COMMON GROUND is available ' on the World Wide Web at http : // www .conservationfund . org Printed on recycled paper. 0 , ) o, � o ? 6 �p . r _ � `