Agreeing On Land Conservation

 Farmers and environmentalists can’t agree on anything, right? Wrong, there are many things these two groups do agree on and one of those is land conservation. The Senate Agriculture and Rural Economy Development Committee found this out while reviewing a bill that both environmentalists and farmers say is a balanced approach to conserving lands. Deciding how to maintain and protect not only critical areas and natural resource lands but agricultural lands as well is an extremely important issue that has been under discussion for the better part of the past decade. Finding that common ground where critical areas on lands used for agriculture remain protected, while those farms where these areas are located are not forced out of business due to regulatory buffers being applied is a time consuming and delicate process. This bill would amazingly provide just such a delicate balance between the two groups and allow counties and states a considerable period of time to find and allocate funds. To have these distinctly diverse groups come together with respect and consideration for each others’ views is a historical achievement in and of itself.