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What Is Preserving Open Space?

Years ago, to be a preservationist and conservationist meant being anti-development. That’s no longer the case. Everyone recognizes the importance of economic growth. The question is where shall it occur? Because of big global forces like energy insecurity and climate change, and because of the need for economic efficiency, it’s clear that “growing in place” must get far more emphasis than it has in the past. That’s good news for the state’s natural areas. To grow in place is a deeply conservative instinct. Making more intensive use of the land we’ve already developed rather than breaking new ground is a piece of common sense that Minnesotans can appreciate. What you get in the end is a better city. You also get more productive and pristine forests, farms and natural areas. It’s a win-win.

What Preserving Open Space Is NOT

• Breaking ground in natural areas for a large-lot cookie cutter development
• Building new, when reusing or rebuilding will do
• Building a central hub, such as a mall or school, on the edge of town

Benefits of Preserving Open Space

• Protects farmland
• Preserves wildlife habitat and areas important to the ecological order
• Sets aside areas for recreation
• Avoids wasteful, redundant development while preserving productive farm land and the natural environment
• Allows growth while still conserving
• Improves property values near natural areas

Examples

• Work by developer Robert Engstrom, including Summit Place in Downtown St. Paul and the Fields of St. Croix in Lake Elmo
• Washington County’s conservation easement program
• National, state, county, city and regional park systems

Challenges to Preserving Open Space

• Laws and practices encourage the abandonment of urbanized land and the breaking of new ground. When a mall falls on hard time, a new mall, farther out, is almost always built. Little or no thought is put into remaking the old mall into a better place. The same trend occurs in small towns when the center is abandoned in favor of auto-oriented development at the edge
• Minnesota’s laws on development finance and eminent domain discourage redevelopment
• Minnesota also lacks the main street restoration programs and historic preservation tax credits that many states have

Recommended Reading

Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food
Wendell Berry
2009

"The essays address such concerns as: How does organic measure up against locally grown? What are the differences between small and large farms, and how does that affect what you put on your dinner table? What can you do to support sustainable agriculture?" –from the book

Holding Our Ground: Protecting America's Farmland
Deborah Bowers and Tom Daniels
1997

"Holding Our Ground can help landowners and communities devise and implement effective strategies for protecting farmland. The authors describe the many challenges involved in protecting farmland and explain how to create a package of techniques that can meet those challenges." –from the book