Market Farming

[Aozotorp AT aol.com]

In a message dated 9/23/01 2:07:13 PM Mountain Daylight Time, 
marc AT aculink.net writes:

<< Thanks Bob. We already have a farm flight in CO and we are
 part of it. As soon as we sell this place we're OUTTA HERE!!
 We have no hope that long term farm plannning means a hoot
 since it's this constant drumbeat of unreimbursed
 confiscatory legislation efforts from the environmentalists,
 animal rights, democrats, recreationalists, socialists,
 endangered specises, consumer protection, urban zoning,
 health department etc. fanatics. At least the developers pay
 a fair price. We have a new location selected and we're not
 tellin'.
 
 Marc Nameth >>

Well fortunately there are people working to preserve open spaces and land in 
Colorado instead of just wondering what they can get out of it!  Have been in 
Colorado since 1947.  And I see Land and Housing prices way out of line and 
more speculative than fair!

Article headline:


<A HREF="http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,75%257E153884,00.html";>
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,75%257E153884,00.html</A>

'Crown Jewels' plan imperative for open spaces

By Ken Salazar 

Sunday, September 23, 2001 - Colorado's ranches, farms, open spaces, river
corridors and urban open lands are precious and irreplaceable legacies that
Colorado citizens should preserve for current and future generations. 

  
 
That is why I support the Crown Jewels Open Space Initiative, and I hope the
General Assembly refers the measure to the voters at its special session. The
people of Colorado should be given a chance to decide whether they want to 
make
this investment in our environment. 

As Colorado adds another 2.5 million people in the next 25 years, sprawl will
continue to gobble up our open space and make us look like California and
Florida unless we take decisive steps. As Colorado grew by almost 1 million
people in the last 10 years, we lost hundreds of thousands of acres of
agricultural land. 

The Crown Jewels Initiative is intended to enhance the ability of Coloradans
and Colorado communities to preserve open space. We know from the success of
Great Outdoors Colorado that protecting open space is an effective tool to
manage growth. The initiative is an investment in preserving what is the best
of Colorado, so we can enjoy both our growth and our unique Colorado 
heritage. 

The Crown Jewels Initiative would establish Article XXVIII to the Colorado
Constitution. Under the provision, a "Colorado Crown Jewels Legacy Program"
would be administered by GOCO. Up to $50 million a year would be available to
help private interests, non-profit organizations and multiple public agencies
to develop cooperative efforts for the permanent preservation of: 

Land used as working farms and ranches; 

Open space and natural areas of statewide significance, including lands that
separate communities and connect open spaces between communities, lands with
valuable wildlife habitats and lands along river corridors and lake areas; 

Urban open lands; and 

Water rights and agreements with the holders of water rights in strict
accordance with currently applicable state water law. 

The Crown Jewels Initiative is designed to preserve and protect the various
parts of Colorado's cultural and natural heritage across the state. This is 
not
an initiative to address only Front Range growth issues. The issue of open
space preservation is also of critical interest to residents along the
Interstate 70 corridor, in our rapidly growing northern Colorado counties and
elsewhere. Preservation of river corridors is of interest across the state. 

The initiative also emphasizes the preservation of working farms and ranches,
which is critical to rural Colorado. Approximately 100,000 acres of Colorado's
agricultural land are converted out of agriculture each year. Conservation
easements guaranteeing the land will continue to be used for agricultural
purposes can be funded on a larger scale than currently possible. 

Paralleling national trends, most of the current and projected growth along 
the
Front Range, from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins, is on top of prime
agricultural land. Other unique agricultural lands, 

such as the orchard areas on the Western Slope, are also under heavy threat
from development. Numerous examples exist of farmers and ranchers wanting to
preserve these agricultural lands - from ranchers along the Gunnison River
corridor and in Custer County, to farmers struggling in the lower Arkansas
River Valley and on the High Plains of eastern Colorado. This initiative is
intended to provide a way for those lands to be preserved and productively 
used
for agricultural uses. ...