The economic value of special places

Conserved farms, forests and trails are not just amenities. They are also resources that safeguard the economic health of communities, concludes a recent study by The Trust for Public Land, Jefferson Land Trust and North Olympic Land Trust, all accredited.

The report, “The economic benefits of conserved lands, trails, and parks on the North Olympic Peninsula,” quantifies the value of the Washington state peninsula’s protected land. The conclusion? Conserved lands are economic drivers that generate hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits each year.

For instance, farmland conservation keeps working farms active, allowing the North Olympic Peninsula to generate $29.4 million in farm products each year. “Preservation efforts of local farmland have led to the resurgence of the agricultural economies of Chimacum, Quilcene and the Dungeness and have contributed to the economic growth of the North Olympic Peninsula,” says Richard Tucker, Jefferson Land Trust executive director.

In addition, the study finds that the forest economy provides 1,440 jobs and $92.1 million in wages each year, while the peninsula’s protected lands reduce pollution control costs by $25.8 million each year. This research was funded in part by the Land Trust Alliance.

Read more at https://saveland.org/discovering-the-economic-value-of-conserved-lands-on-the-north-olympic-peninsula/.

Kirsten Ferguson is a frequent contributor to Saving Land, the Land Trust Alliance's quarterly magazine.