Where Consensus and Balance Meet

Agreement, rather 100% agreement is often times sought but rarely achieved. Is it possible? Does it matter? How this plays into open space protection is simple, often everyone can agree that preservation is better than the alternative of development for certain landscapes, but open space as a term means different things to different people. For some passing the pastoral farm field is sufficient, for others unfettered public access is required.

Within the constructs of a conservation easement even the conservation values are not always in agreement. Some conservation values are dependent on certain conditions on the landscape remaining the same and overtime, climate change, natural floods and droughts can change those conditions. More pertinent to the agreement of conservation values within the conservation easement are that certain values can be in conflict with other values. Agriculture and public recreation don't always play well together. Public recreation and wildlife habitat are at times at odds. Even the scenic value of a setting can be impaired by other conservation benefits. It is a balance.

As communities struggle over the diverse and equally important uses of land the key comes back to this balance. Some places need to be off limits to human intrusion. This is not some man versus nature idea, but rather the reality that we all want the freedom to off leash our pets, or bike, or horse back ride in areas where, as my mom used to say, "think of what this place would look like if everyone was allowed to do that." Sometimes the right balance is based on knowing that a few bad eggs will spoil the entire quiche. In other words, we need to prove that we can be good stewards. I know lots of farmers and ranchers who will point across the fence to where the land has been overgrazed.

Of late, this issue of agreement over how lands should be used has been front and center in a number of open space discussions. Should one conservation value, wildlife habitat preservation, be paramount to another like public access. The answer is not simple, but I believe that instead of it beginning with the question "How should these lands be used", it needs to begin with "What kind of stewards do we want to be."

Balance, is something we take for granted. We all strive for it and until our health, our family, our environment is so out of whack, we don't realize how far we are from achieving it. With land preservation what everyone agrees on is once it is asphalt we can't ask the question of how it gets used.