GOOD THINGS TO KNOW
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Land preservation provides multiple benefits, including environmental, economic, educational, recreational, health, and aesthetic.
Environmental
Natural lands filter and cleanse water, recharge groundwater and act as a sponge to help prevent flooding, minimizing the need for expensive flood control structures. Impervious cover from development, e.g. pavement or buildings, increases flooding and drains polluted runoff from roads and other places directly to water bodies, degrading water quality and increasing drinking water treatment costs.
Land preservation conserves biological diversity through conservation of wildlife habitats. Greenway corridors allow wildlife to travel between nesting and foraging areas. Loss of natural areas causes habitat fragmentation, endangering the viability of certain species or at least local populations of those species.
Natural lands improve air quality, filtering pollutants and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions through carbon sequestration. Increased traffic from developments degrades air quality.
Economic
Passive and active recreational open spaces are highly valued assets in Pennsylvania’s urban centers and other communities. Green space provides a catalyst for revitalization efforts. Benefits of open space include increased investment by business, increased economic activity, attraction and retention of residents and more tourism.
Tourism is a key component of Pennsylvania’s economy, and relies in large measure on the quality and quantity of state’s scenic, cultural, heritage, environmental and recreational assets. The economic benefit from nature-related tourism amounts to several billion dollars annually. Tourism supports and creates jobs; provides a strong boost to local economies through purchases of services, commodities and food; and creates revenue for the state through sales taxes and income taxes generated from tourism related jobs. Continued preservation and stewardship of beautiful landscapes and natural amenities is essential to a sustainable and strong tourism industry.
Pennsylvania agriculture contributes greatly to the state’s economy. It is the largest industry in Pennsylvania, producing over $45 billion annually and providing approximately 1 in 6 jobs in agriculture and related business (The Brookings Institution). The agricultural industry contributes to local economies directly through sales, jobs, support services and businesses, and also by supplying secondary markets such as food processing. Products generated in state have a shorter distance to travel to consumers than do out of state products, thus maximizing freshness and reducing transportation costs. Restaurants using fresh and/or locally grown organic produce reap the benefits of supportive consumers. Access to local farm products also increases self sufficiency, insurance against any future food scarcity and increasing the security of our food supply, thus leaving us better prepared in the event of natural and/or other disasters elsewhere, including flooding, drought, frost or breakdown in long distance transportation systems.
Communities strategically protecting land can minimize the costs of sprawl. Avoided costs are some of the most valuable economic benefits of preservation. Such costs can range from costs of new infrastructure and higher property taxes to the costs resulting from traffic congestion and impaired ecological systems (including diminished water quality, depleted water supplies and droughts, flooding, air pollution, soil depletion, and fragmented wildlife habitat).
Preserved land enhances adjacent property values. These lands require little or no government services and thus do not drive taxes up in the way that many developments do. Cost of community service studies show that farms and other types of open or natural lands generate more in property taxes than they demand in services. In contrast, residential development is generally a net drain on municipal budgets because it costs more in government services to service the homes (schools, etc.) than the homeowners pay in property taxes. Thus, when new developments occur, across the board tax increases must often occur to cover the shortfall.
By preserving their land, landowners can personally realize substantial financial benefits through federal and state income, estate and property tax policies.
Educational
Preserved lands offer many opportunities for learning for all ages. Whether through structured programs at parks or nonprofit nature centers or through independent observation, there is an infinite wealth of enriching information about the natural world.
Recreational
Quality recreational opportunities are seen by the public and by business as essential. Walking trails, bike paths, playgrounds, campgrounds, swimming spots, quiet open spaces - - locations with these attributes more successfully attract and retain residents as well as employers and employees.
Health
Engaging in recreational activities contributes to the health and well being of people. Physical exercise, cleaner air, peaceful settings, pleasant sights and sounds and smells – all of these things are restorative, ever more essential in our hurried and stressful society. It has also been documented that youth with recreational opportunities commit fewer crimes.
Aesthetic Benefits
Residents and visitors value scenic countryside and roomy vistas, especially in places where open spaces are increasingly scarce. Beautiful places contribute to quality of life in ways perhaps less measurable than other benefits but no less meaningfully.
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