Bill To Preserve Rural Open Space Dies

Today, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy voted to postpone indefinitely Senate Bill 00-005, sponsored by Senator Brian Sullivant and Representative Tom Plant.

Environmental Defense supported the bill because it would have established a fund from surplus revenues to purchase land or easements in rural areas to protect public values such as viewsheds, wildlife habitat, and open space. Specifically, the bill would have used up to $17 million annually in the state’s budget surplus to establish a rural legacy program for acquiring easements and fee estates in rural areas to protect open space and other values while also maintaining the state’s agricultural heritage. The bill would have established a new agency in the Department of Local Affairs to administer the program.

“This bill would have given financial incentives to farmers and ranchers to preserve agricultural lands for open space and to maintain the rural heritage these lands hold for Colorado. These benefits could have been achieved efficiently without additional bureaucracy. We are very disappointed the bill was voted down, and that the full House won’t get to vote on this important legislation. The people of Colorado are saying they want to protect our quality of life; this bill would have helped do that, and its early demise suggests that we may have to find other ways to help protect rural lands,” said Environmental Defense attorney Jim Martin.