Forum topic related to:

Public/private programs such as conservation easements, purchase of development rights, and transferable development rights are severely limited by “private property rights.” Government agencies such as the EPA and educational efforts of such groups as the Sierra Club are equally powerless to stop the continual paving of farmland.
“Land protection, and its converse, development, must be viewed in light of private property rights. Government spending programs, regulations, and an individual's rights as a property owner drives the land market in this country. Daniels and Bowers (1997) remind us that "[t]he tension between the private ownership of land and the public interest is a fundamental and continual issue in the community efforts to manage growth." What land will be developed and what land will be protected is up to landowners, elected officials and the public to decide.” Protecting Farmland In Developing Communities: A Case Study Of The Tax Implications Of Agricultural Conservation Easements By Nanette Nelson, Laurie Fowler, and Jeffrey Dorfman, University of Georgia.