ASPEN, Colo.—Colorado was the third most successful state in the country at preserving open space last year and one of only two in the West where more land was preserved than was developed, according to a new report.
But the report by the Colorado Conservation Trust also said the state’s rate of development is among the highest nationwide.
About 167,500 acres of private land were preserved in Colorado last year, according to the report “Colorado Conservation at a Crossroads.”
The Aspen Valley Land Trust, the state’s oldest, acquired conservation easements on 5,200 acres in the Roaring Fork and lower Colorado River valleys. Easements give landowners tax breaks for agreeing to limit or forgo developing their property.
Altogether, Colorado land trusts have protected 1.57 million acres of ranches, farms and other open spaces, according to the report. Local governments have conserved another 380,000 acres.
The report, though, points to Colorado’s growing population as a challenge to saving open space. The state added more than 1 million people between 1990 and 2000. The population increased 10.5 percent from 2000 to 2006.
“The state demographer projects that 5.7 million people will call Colorado ‘home’ in 2015—an increase of 827,000 people over our current population,” the report said.
Some estimates peg the annual amount of rural and open space developed statewide at 90,000 acres.
“Despite our substantial accomplishments, Colorado’s conservation community is falling behind in protecting our most special places,” said Will Shafroth, executive director of the Colorado Conservation Trust. “We need to pick up the pace if we are to meet our 2 million acre goal by 2015.”
The trust estimates that it will cost $1.18 billion to reach the goal.
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Information from: The Aspen Times,
