Study: Land conservation can, should be used to save Bay

Ten years ago, mid-Atlantic states hoping to restore the Chesapeake Bay pledged to conserve 20 percent of all land within the Bay watershed by 2010. Today, state leaders can say they did, with room to spare.

They set aside 1.2 million acres over the past decade, with Virginia preserving the most, and more than 7.2 million acres since the Bay cleanup began in the 1980s, according to government statistics.

That equates to 21.3 percent of all farms, forests, wetlands and historic sites within the watershed being off-limits to development, statistics show.

In his executive order last year, President Barack Obama vowed to keep the trend going, urging that another 2 million acres be shelved by 2025.

But with state budgets reeling and the federal treasury awash in debt, is that goal realistic?

A study released Monday by two environmental organizations says the task will be difficult but is possible.

Conducted by the Chesapeake Bay Commission and the Chesapeake Conservancy, the study takes a hard look at one of the key parts of reviving the Bay that gets little attention: land conservation.

Putting aside land keeps it from being torn up and developed, lowers any pollution that might flow off of it and provides habitat for wildlife. Even after an active decade of conservation, 58 percent of all land in the Bay watershed today could still be developed. Of that, most is forested.

Authors of the study urge a mix of tax incentives and market-based trading - two approaches favored by Virginia - and push all states to establish a permanent fund to buy more sensitive land that can do the most good for the Bay's fragile ecosystem.

Virginia does not have such a fund and has balked at creating one for years, arguing for property rights and against new taxes.

"We have great momentum, but need to do even better," said state Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple, a Northern Virginia Democrat.

On a conference call with reporters, Whipple said she intends to propose legislation next month in the General Assembly to study the best way to start a conservation fund in Virginia.

Compared with other environmental programs, she said, land conservation historically has been "one of the easiest sells" among state politicians, but she conceded that a dedicated fund likely "will take some more time."

Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell has pledged to protect 400,000 acres before the end of his four-year term, but he generally has favored incentives such as tax breaks as a way to get there. In its first year, the new administration has conserved 37,480 acres, officials said Monday.

McDonnell's predecessor, Timothy M. Kaine, accomplished the same feat during his term, using a mix of tax incentives and bond money to purchase properties outright and give landowners an option of dedicating "conservation easements" on all or portions of their tracts.

In counting to 400,000 acres, both governors also lump all land set aside by private conservation groups, such as The Nature Conservancy, as well as local land trusts.

The study Monday encouraged other cities and counties across the mid-Atlantic to copy what Virginia Beach did years ago to save its farmland: create a program that pays farmers not to develop their land but allows them to keep raising crops or livestock.

Bill Matuszeski, a consultant on the study and a longtime Bay advocate, also encouraged the federal government to do more for land conservation, saying the states have shouldered the job for too long.

Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340, scott.harper@pilotonline.com