State of Working Lands: February 2010
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The State of Working Lands
February 2010
Having Lots to Learn
Prior to the real estate bubble, landowners and developers
subdivided private working lands. The speculative housing market drove
real estate prices to values many multiples greater than values for
forest, farm and ranch production. The bubble residue left a pattern
on the landscape of premature subdivisions - a configuration of
building sites with no one home. Three partners share an interest in
learning from this subdivided history: Valley Advocates for
Responsible Development (VARD - Teton County, Idaho), the Sonoran
Institute, and the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, Read more>>.
Homes on the Edge - A Burning Question
Wildland fire suppression costs consume $3 billion dollars from
the federal budget. A primary factor that contributes to the
increased costs is the protection of private property in the Wildland
Urban Interface (WUI). Headwaters Economics, a non-profit
organization, reviewed the factors contributing to higher costs, and
concluded that existing policy does not address the expansion of
residential development in the WUI. Instead, public policy
concentrates on the current condition - i.e., what should be done about
the existing private structures in fire prone areas? Read more>>
Forestry Conference - March 3-4, 2010 - Boise
The Society of American Foresters and partners have organized a
two day conference in Boise on March 3-4, 2010. A second in a series
, the discussions will review current forest conditions, the forest
restoration need, the industry role to attain restoration goals on the
landscape, and the social license to practice forest management on
public lands. For the conference announcement read more >>
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The State of Working Lands