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In the not-too-distant past Florida was a bonafide hunter's paradise with
expanses
of grass savannas full of Bobwhite Quail
and pine forest
full of wild turkey.
The hunting tradition here runs deep.
But quality places to hunt here in Florida
are getting more and more difficult to find as decades of rampant development
of all kind
has encroached.
Leaving just pockets of great habitat
where once large tracts dominated.
Between 1982 to 2007
Florida lost 1.5
million acres of rural land
to various kinds of development,
making The Sunshine State the
third largest state
for loss of agricultural lands
during that time period.
Development has also put pressure on the most important resource: water.
In a state known for its water-based recreation,
it is alarming to hear
that there are so many straws drawing off the florida water table
and that many well users
are finding their wells filled
with little more than saying and and saltwater,
and of course this is not just the Florida issue.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the
25 years between 1982 and 2007
the United States converted an astounding 41 million acres
of rural land
to develop uses.
That's an area of land roughly the size of
Illinois and New Jersey combined
that will never be used for agriculture
and that's been seriously marginalized as fish and wildlife habitat.
But for landowners who might like to ensure
that their land will be available to future generations
of farmers and ranchers,
there are a few ways
they can help stem the tide.
Since 2006, the federal government
has offered
enhanced income tax deduction for landowners who donate a conservation
easement on their land.
Conservation easements are voluntary and help landowners to keep their farms
working in perpetuity
even if the ownership changes hands, and
there's currently legislation to make the tax break permanent.
And there's also the Farm and Ranch Land Protection program
which is part of the farm bill.
Since its inception in 1996,
this program has helped protect more than a million acres of productive
farmland
from development.
But the future for the Farm and Ranch Land Protection program
is equally murky as congress failed to pass a new farm bill,
jeopardizing agricultural land conservation
in all 50 states.
The path forward for a new farm bill
is unclear,
which puts the farm and ranch land protection program
and a host of other conservation initiatives
in a bad position. Whether or not you own land
all sportsmen understand the importance of farmland
and the grave threat it faces
from development
of all kinds.
If you are concerned about the future of America's rural landscape
please contact a member of congress and tell them to make conservation tax incentives
permanent
and to pass a farm bill
with a strong
conservation easement program.