Economic Benefits of Land Conservation
It all adds up. Conserved land increases the value of property near greenbelts, saves tax dollars by encouraging more efficient development, and reduces the need for expensive water filtration facilities.
Many resources are available on the economic benefits of land conservation:
- The Trust for Public Land's 2005 report "Managing Growth: The Impact of Conservation and Development on Property Taxes in New Hampshire"
- The Trust for Public Land has published several reports on the Economic Benefits of Conserving Land. The reports also have an extensive bibliography.
- The American Farmland Trust has compiled a list of cost of community services. "Cost of Community Services Studies (Acrobat PDF)" details the cost in tax dollars for industrial and commercial, open space, and residential areas versus every $1 of tax revenue.
- The National Park Service and RTCA published "The Economic Impact of Protecting Rivers, Trails and Greenways Corridors. There is a good chapter on "Real Property Values."
- "Saving Land Saves Money" by the Montgomery County Lands Trust (PA) is a report that was recently updated.
- "Economic Impact of Open Space in New Hampshire" is a 1999 report prepared for The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (PDF, 140KB).
- The Open Lands Initiative Web site -- a project of the Western Governors' Association -- assists western states that are grappling with growth issues and seeking to promote the conservation of open space. Their site offers a comprehensive bibliography of the literature on the economic benefits of open space. It contains over 100 citations addressing many different dimensions of this issue -- www.westgov.org/wga/initiatives/tpl/ecoben.htm.
- "The Economic Benefits of Open Space", May 1992 by Stephen Miller -- Director of the Islesboro Islands Trust in ME.
