Farmland Preservation Moves Ahead
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By Reid Magney, La Crosse Tribune, Wis.  Mar. 6--La Crosse County is moving slowly toward preserving farmland by buying development rights.   Monday, the county board voted to start work on a pilot program for 2008.
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By Denis CuffSTAFF  A conservation group announced a deal last week to buy a half- square-mile of spring-fed grasslands and oak forests north of Clayton, where county-approved growth limits scuttled plans to build housing.
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By Angel Riggs and Michael Overall, Tulsa World, Okla.  Feb. 13--OKLAHOMA CITY -- Aggravated farmers seem ready to put down their guns now that environmentalists have taken steps to protect crops from wild elk, officials said Monday.
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By Patrick Lynch, Daily Press, Newport News, Va.  Feb. 12--RICHMOND -- The General Assembly is poised to create a slew of new guidelines for spreading sludge on farms.
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By Justin Faulconer, The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.  Jun. 12--BEDFORD -- A land preservation issue has drawn a line between the Bedford County Board of Supervisors.   Despite the rift, a new comprehensive plan is expected to pass 4-3 in two weeks.
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Farmers who provide "bed and breakfast" for wild birds could help reverse the decline in farmland species, experts say.
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By John Stark, The Bellingham Herald, Wash.  Mar. 10--BELLINGHAM -- A study that advocates additional measures to preserve agricultural use on nearly 22,000 Whatcom County acres will be presented to the Whatcom County Council Tuesday.
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By The Herald, Rock Hill, S.C.  Feb. 27--Thanks to Bob and Debbie Stuck, nearly 300 more acres in York County will remain undeveloped. We hope more land can be put aside through the incentive program used by the Stucks before it expires next year.
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Long a model for protecting rural areas, the state faces a property-rights backlash.
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By CHRISTINA NUCKOLS THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  RICHMOND - Conservation advocates said changes approved by lawmakers Monday in a state tax credit program will help Virginia keep its bragging rights as a leader in land preservation.
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MARTINSVILLE, Ohio -- Tucked away in the den of his 127-year-old farmhouse, Ed Winkle huddles over his computer. The screen's soft glow lights up his eyeglasses, reflecting messages about tractors, corn hybrids and crop insurance.
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By Paul Muschick, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.  Feb. 12--Northampton County Council will be asked to approve four open space preservation projects totaling about 380 acres at a cost of about $792,000.
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ATLANTA - Bob Rawlins raises his cattle and cultivates his crops far away  from where a battle over the state's water supply could break out next year,  but he knows the fallout could affect him and fellow farmers far into the  future.
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New Milford, Conn., is taking a proactive approach to slow residential development and preserve large tracts of  agricultural land.
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By William Presecky, Chicago Tribune  Dec. 11--Big Rock Township resident Marvel Davis knew in recent years that her 170-year-old family farm would be sold as open space eventually, free from the threat of development.
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By Mark Grossi, The Fresno Bee, Calif.  Mar. 10--The government on Friday announced a $2.6 billion plan to retire almost 200,000 acres of tainted west side farmland and clean up salty water from beneath a swath of surrounding land almost as large.
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By Olson, Scott  State officials have added another arrow to their quiver of economic-development incentives meant to attract companies to Indiana.  A new pilot program, known as Shovel Ready, certifies land that can be rapidly developed.