Issues: Smart Growth

Between 1960 and 1990, U.S. population grew less than 50 percent, while the amount of open land that fell under developers' bulldozers more than doubled. Each year, 3.2 million acres of open space are developed. This translates into 356 acres per hour. The result? Habitat loss and fragmentation that has pushed many species, such as the Florida Panther, to the brink of extinction. The loss each year of thousands of acres of prime farmland that can never be recovered. And the destruction of forests in places like Washington's Puget Sound lowland, where the area covered by trees has declined 37 percent in the last 24 years.

Rural preservation programs can save farmland and scenic landscapes from sprawling development. In Montgomery County, Maryland, pictured above, a comprehensive preservation program has saved over 93,000 acres of working farmland and open space. In Oregon, farmland losses have been reduced from 30,000 acres annually to about 2,000 through smart-growth management measures, such as drawing development boundaries around urban areas and limiting development beyond them. Altogether, Oregon has protected more than 16 million acres of agricultural land from development.

Photos: Top, Surface Transportation Policy Project; Bottom, Matthew Raimi