Undeveloped land losses rising quickly

Like driving along rural roads and seeing farms and open land? Like having space between developments and shopping areas? If action is not taken soon much of what you see will disappear forever in the state.

At the current rate of development in North Carolina a substantial percentage of existing open space will disappear by 2027 according to the report:

• The Triangle will lose 37 percent of its open space and farmland will disappear altogether.

• The Charlotte area will lose 30 percent of its forests and farmland, including nearly a quarter of its woodlands, the highest rate of forest loss in the state, the report says.

An initiative has begun to encourage lawmakers to ask for a bond referendum to provide funding to procure open space and preserve it for the future. Unfortunately this competes for requests for funds for housing, schools and other needs that will likely win out. Read the article...

News and Observer
April 25, 2007
Wade Rawlins, Staff Writer

Report: undeveloped land
losses rising

If current development rates continue, at least 2
million acres of forest and farmland in North Carolina will disappear over the
next 20 years, says a report released today by Environment North Carolina, a
conservation advocacy group.

The report examines federal data about development rates in the past two
decades and uses that to project loss of farmland and forests in the next 20
years.

Since 1987, the amount of developed land in North Carolina increased by 1.86
million acres, including 327,000 acres in the Triangle, the report says. Read more...