Complete Report - Yale University

SECTION 113Section 1: Importance of and Barriers toWorking Across the Private – Public Divide1.1: BackgroundJ. Daniel OppenheimerYale School of Forestry & Environmental StudiesAcross the country, many land trusts and other conservation groups are encounteringnot a dearth of willing land sellers, but a scarcity of funding. While some have foundthe silver lining of low real estate costs, more have faced an onset of funding shortagesstemming from a number of causes and occurring at varying scales. In NorthCarolina, Phyllis Stiles, the campaign director for a coalition of local land trusts,noted that:“In spite of the economy we still have way more landowners who want toconserve their land than we can keep up with. There are lower prices butthere is much less money out there to do the deal.” 1While Stiles works exclusively in the Blue Ridge Mountains, her concern is sharedacross many landscapes and communities. The lack of funding from traditional,public sources has a number of implications for land trusts, including the need toseek funding from nontraditional sources; consider other conservation tools formeeting missions, goals, and objectives; and foster dialogues with new partners.In addition to concerns about funding, increasing development pressures andpopulation projections create further exigency for a more holistic, public-privateapproach toward conservation. By 2037, the United States population is projected toreach 400 million people—an addition of 100 million people since 2006 (TheobaldWilkinson, and Comer, 2008). This increase in population will bring with it newdemands for housing, road infrastructure, and energy. A collective, coordinated effortin land conservation will require that land trusts and other stakeholders, whether inthe public or private sector, look up and see where and how their efforts fit into thewhole. This may also require land trusts to step out of their comfort zone to achievebroader objectives.1 See Bompey, N. “Recessioncrimps land conservationplans.” Asheville Citizen Times,April 30, 2010. Retrieved fromhttp://www.citizentimes.com/article/20100430/NEWS/ 304300041.yale school of forestry & environmental studies