Despite declining tax revenues in many areas, federal, state and local governments are taking advantage of the sluggish real estate market to buy property for preservation.
In many cases, the federal government will match the amount spent on property, which makes the cost of preserving land seem reasonable to both government officials and taxpayers.
Recent open-space spending includes:
* A U.S. farm bill that commits more than $1 billion in federal money over five years to buy easements to prevent farms and ranches from being developed. It more than doubles such spending in the last farm bill.
* Minnesota has agreed to spend $20 million on the first major new state park in three decades: a 3,000-acre site on Lake Vermilion in the northeastern part of the state after the plan for a luxury home development fell through
* The Florida Legislature has extended Florida Forever, the biggest state open-space program in the nation, for 10 years, at $300 million per year.
* Phoenix voters approved a 30-year sales tax that could generate about $100 million over 10 years to buy 21,000 acres of land.
Source: USA Today, Dennis Cauchon (05/28/2008)
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