A Deal With The Devil To Slow Sprawl

A development rights deal in northern Idaho is the latest example of conservation groups making deals with their historic foes to slow suburban sprawl.

1 minute read

November 15, 2002, 4:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Conservationists are buying development rights to forestlands near populated areas in an effort to keep real-estate developers at bay. In return, the timber companies get to keep cutting down trees on the land, preserving jobs and mills. In all, some 2.6 million acres of U.S. land have been protected through such conservation easements, a nearly five-fold increase from a decade ago, according to estimates by the Land Trust Alliance... 'This isn’t so much an unholy alliance we’re seeking here, as much as a pragmatic meeting of the minds...'"

Thanks to Chris Steins

Wednesday, November 13, 2002 in Wall St. Journal

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