Spending Green For Green Space

Seeking to connect the dots of environmentally sensitive areas, more states are dedicating significant funds for land acquisition and joining forces with nonprofit conservation groups to protect entire landscapes and watersheds.

Seizing the opportunity to create a southwest Florida conservation corridor, the "Florida Forever" land acquisition program helped to finance the purchase of 74,000 acres in that part of the state. In California, the state led an effort to acquire the development rights for the 128-square-mile Hearst Ranch, gateway to the Big Sur and overlooking the Pacific Ocean. And the "Yellowstone to Yukon" initiative envisions the creation of a 2,000-mile wildlife corridor stretching from Wyoming to the Arctic Circle.

The blend of public and private investment with voluntary agreements and easements from private landowners is seeking to make the buzzword "ecoregionalism" a reality.