Conservation Fund Helps Preserve Utah Lands

by Lara Gale and Paul Moberly, AICP PCED, Editor, Western Planner. Part of this article first appeared in the State of Rural Utah 2019 Report.

Public- and private-sector decision makers across Utah are looking forward to 2020 Census data with bated breath. Projections estimate the state population is likely to double by 2065. With affordable housing availability already a significant concern, the question looms: where will all these new people live?

A decade ago, the Utah legislature decided to address of that question and plan thoughtfully for that growth.

“When you talk about smart growth, it’s not so much what we’re building, but where we’re building as well. I think part of that is realizing that there are areas worth preserving and keeping free from development,” says Utah State Planning Coordinator, Evan Curtis.

Preserved agricultural land can be important in retaining the rural character of areas in high development while still compensating land owners.

In 1999, the legislature passed the Utah Quality Growth Act and established the LeRay McCallister Fund to provide grants to local governments, state agencies and nonprofit organizations to conserve or restore important agricultural lands, wildlife habitat, watershed, recreational lands, and culturally or historically important lands.

Since then, the fund has made it possible for 113 projects to conserve 93,000 acres in 23 counties across the State of Utah. Over the last decade, every $1 dollar provided by the grant was matched on average by $9 dollars in federal and private funding.

Applicants include conservation organizations, communities and individual landowners who value wildlife habitat, watersheds and agricultural land in their areas—recognizing the contribution to their quality of life and the health of their environment that these lands bring.

“The most satisfying thing of course is talking to the actual landowners and getting the feedback from them. Many of these individuals have had this land for decades,” Curtis says. “Many times it’s family land—it’s been in the family for generations—and they understand that it takes a lot of work to get an area to be prime ag lands, for instance, and they don’t want to see that developed.”

Many western states have similar conservation programs. The Trust for Public Lands cites $82.6 billion in funds acquired or generated for land acquisition and protection in the U.S. since 1988, $1.8 billion in 2020 alone. These figures include federal, state, and local efforts at land conservation. These conserved lands include critical habitats, greenbelts and trails, flood mitigation areas, recreational areas, agricultural land, and park spaces. Balancing conservation with development keeps homeowners safe from natural hazards, helps maintain the beloved qualities of communities, and preserves the health of natural amenities.

“Some areas are great for developing and turning into subdivisions—we need places to live, we need housing,” Curtis says. “But some areas are worth considering for preservation. And starting those conversations and starting the planning process is probably one of the key elements of having this type of funding available.”

To learn about the LeRay McCallister Fund, visit gomb.utah.gov/2020-leray-mcallister-application/