Rate of Sprawl Doubles in 1990s
12/7/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Rate of sprawl doubles in 1990s; Federal survey tracks how
much acreage gets developed
Source: MSNBC
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: December 7, 1999
Byline: Miguel Llanos
Dec. 7 - The rate at which farmland and private forests were
developed into subdivisions and other commercial uses has more than
doubled in the 1990s, a federal survey released Tuesday shows. The
sharp increase reflects the growing concerns that suburban sprawl is
eroding America's quality of life.
THE FIGURES tell the story: Nearly 16 million acres of farms and
private forests were converted to development between 1992 and 1997 -
a rate of 3.2 million per year. Between 1982 and 1992, that rate was
1.4 million acres a year.
Landowners near cities who opted to sell have made windfall profits.
But those who want to keep farming, or foresting, are finding it
harder to survive given the higher property values.
"These new figures confirm what communities across America already
know - too much of our precious open space is being gobbled up by
sprawl," Vice President Al Gore said in a statement.
The figures also show, Gore noted, that the loss of farmland is no
longer centered predominantly around major urban areas, but is
affecting growing numbers of small- and mid-sized cities.
The survey was released Tuesday at a national summit on land
preservation hosted by Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, who warned
that the data show "conservation challenges are mounting and
intensifying more quickly than we are solving them."
SURVEY EVERY FIVE YEARS
Called the National Resources Inventory, the survey is taken every
five years by the Department of Agriculture and covers non-federal
land, about 75 percent of the land base.
The survey looked at 800,000 locations within 2,000 watershed areas,
which include the cities and rural communities around them. The
highest conversion rates - 50,000 or more acres - represented only 2
percent of those watersheds but accounted for 22 percent of the
nearly 16 million acres developed between 1992-97.
Topping the list in terms of average annual conversions were Texas,
Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, California, Tennessee
and Michigan.
Some examples from the report:
In Pennsylvania, the development rate jumped more than fivefold, from
43,110 acres a year to 224,640 acres a year during the periods
surveyed. Pennsylvania "prides itself on its farmland, so it must be
especially distressful to them," said Deron Lovaas, a spokesman for
the Sierra Club.
In Texas, the annual rate jumped from 139,000 acres to 243,900 acres.
The area around Brownsville, on the border with Mexico, posted some
of the highest rates for the state.
In California, the highest rates were in the central part of the
state, between Northern and Southern California.
In Florida, the highest rates were along the state's Atlantic coast.
OTHER INDICATORS
Glickman noted that the survey also raised red flags around other
indicators:
Waterways. Nearly 2 billion tons of soil is eroding into waterways
each year. Significant gains have made in erosion control since 1985
but no additional improvement has been found since 1995.
Wetlands. Gross wetland losses have increased to 54,000 acres a year
on farmland. Wetland gains of nearly 30,000 acres a year have
partially offset that loss.
Urban green. Tree and forest cover in urban areas is declining at an
"alarming" rate. In the Chesapeake Bay region, for example, tree
canopy cover has fallen from 51 percent 37 percent since 1975.
CARROTS, STICKS
Gore noted that while the trend doesn't threaten America's food
supply - technology and corporate farms are taking care of that - it
does force small farmers off the land and eliminates open spaces
vital for the environment and quality of life.
Nearly everyone can agree with that view. What's controversial is
what the right mix of development is, and how to achieve it.
Some groups see population control as the answer, either via
voluntary family planning or even limiting immigration.
At the city and state government level, growth management laws have
been used to try to curb sprawl. But resistance from developers and
business has led to a relatively new practice funded by federal,
state and city revenues.
Basically, farmers are paid to stay in business. Those who
participate sell "easements" to their land that bar them from
pursuing nonfarm activities.
The 1996 federal farm law set aside $35 million over six years to
supplement state and local easement efforts, but the money ran out
this year and met fewer than one in five requests.
Bills are pending in Congress to renew the programs at $55 million a
year. Gore said the Clinton administration would seek a significant
increase in funding for the program for 2001.
GORE CAMPAIGN ISSUE
As a presidential candidate, Gore has made sprawl one of his top
issues.
In his statement, Gore claimed the Republican-controlled Congress has
held back on administration requests for more funds for the voluntary
easement program.
Regardless of the politicking both sides agree with the tenet voiced
by Gore that "we can build more livable communities, with a strong
economy and a high quality of life, without forcing family farmers
off the farm."
Some environmental groups worry that voluntary easements won't be
enough and want tough restrictions on development as well as more
mass transit.
Ironically Gore, self-described as the environmental candidate, is
more in line on this issue with free-market groups like the Reason
Foundation, which wants more voluntary easements and fair-market
purchases of open space.
Moreover, Gore says the administration's anti-sprawl initiatives,
called Livable Communities, aim to channel resources to local
communities while letting them decide how to deal with the problem.
"Our role is to expand the choices available to communities - not to
dictate solutions," Gore said. "By providing new tools and resources,
we can help communities create the future they want."
Glickman echoed that partnership approach. The goal of Tuesday's
summit, he said, is to "spur a public-private ... and to begin the
search for solutions to these challenges."
More detailed survey data are online at www.nrcs.usda.gov.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.