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I . ® PEN SPACE PROTECTION 50 face the specter of neighborhood dogs bothering live- ment . Just as our gray infrastructure of roads links stock or nuisance complaints from people unaccus- together to form a regional transportation system, so do tomed to farm life . swaths of green space function together to support our natural systems . If the links in this network of green infrastructure are broken , the system begins to break COUNTY down . The Triangle J Council of Governments is a regional association of the local governments in seven counties that is working in equal partnership with the COUNTY BUYS DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS TO Triangle Land Conservancy and the N. C . Division of MAINTAIN FARMS Parks and Recreation to develop a " GreenPrint" or Forsyth County, home to Winston-Salem, has faced regional green space plan for the Triangle . The project is many of the development pressures common around mapping green spaces that are currently protected, those larger cities in North Carolina . Between 1969 and targeted for preservation , and other lands that are 1985 , 17 percent of land in the county was converted important to the ecological and recreational functions to non-agricultural use . The pace of development only of the Triangle . The resulting GreenPrint will link increased in the 1980s . County officials set a goal of together green space investments made at the local level preserving 30 , 000 acres of farmland through the acqui- into a functioning regional green space network that sition of development rights when they adopted the can help maintain the region's essential green infrastruc- Agricultural Land Preservation Plan in 1986 . Money for ture for current and future generations . In an area that the program comes primarily from the county's general lost almost 150 , 000 acres between 1987 and 1997 to fund and has been set aside for the program since 1984 . development , this sort of planning is crucial to the In recent years , federal and state grants have also helped future quality of life in the region. The counties in the support the program . Charlotte region are involved in a similar effort through the Voices and Choices initiative sponsored by Central Since that time, the county has purchased development Carolinas Choices . rights for 25 farms , leased the rights on two farms , and received donations of rights for two more . This has placed over 1 , 500 acres in protection , at a cost of just IPE over $ 2 . 6 million for acquisition . Applications for over M UADUNTAIN ISLAND LAR NINK 6 , 200 acres have been received. While it has not hit the original target, the program has OPEN SPACE SAVES WATER SUPPLY, MONEY taken important steps in preserving farmland in an area Preserving open space is often essential in maintaining a where it could have easily succumbed to growth pres- high quality of life and keeping an economy vibrant . In sures . Farmers have peace of mind knowing their land the case of Mountain Island Lake , the water source for will remain safe and surrounding property owners have over a half-million people in and around Charlotte and seen their land values rise. Gastonia, open space preservation is keeping drinking water safe for residents . When Gaston County moved its water intake to the lake, away from the more developed South Fork of the Catawba River, it cut chemical treat- � � � P , I � ment costs for drinking water by 50 percent because the water was so much cleaner. REGIONAL COOPERATION TO PRESERVE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE The Initiative for Mountain Island Lake began 10 years Open space protection issues often extend beyond the ago with what is now the Catawba Lands Conservancy. jurisdiction of just one municipality or county govern- Many groups such as the governments of Gaston ,