Conservation Connections: Tools for the 21st Century
Prepared Remarks of Executive Sims
Trust for Public Lands National Leadership Council Meeting
Argonaut Hotel
San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park
April 21, 2006
Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to discuss innovative ways of encouraging conservation. King County and the Trust for Public Land have a long and deepening relationship that provides enormous benefits to our people, both today and for generations to come. It is an honor to be invited to speak before you.
Contrary to popular belief, where I live is not all about lattes, software and rain.
King County is astoundingly beautiful, stretching from the shores of Puget Sound to the snow-crested peaks of the Cascade Mountains. In between are two thousand square miles containing vibrant urban centers, four major river systems, 760 lakes, 3,000 miles of streams and a thousand square miles of forest.
It's a place where you can kayak in the morning and go skiing after lunch.
King County is a place where the environmental ethic runs deep. The quality of our environment is the touchstone to our quality of life, It's why the old-timers stay and the why the new-comers keep coming.
We are home to more than 1.8 million people countywide, and to Seattle, the largest city in the Pacific Northwest. But King County is also rural. We have thousands of farms and are the seventh largest timber producing county in the state.
Our environment is rich and diverse and our strong conservation ethic is a reflection of our deep connection to the landscape.
We in King County are fighting hard to preserve our natural resources and a quality of life that is bound to that landscape. PCB's are killing Orca populations in Puget Sound; salmon runs are threatened by pollution and low water levels; ten years ago you could see clear to the mountains on a summer day, but today the brown haze of smog too often obscures the view. Because of short-sighted land management policies enacted at statehood, public access to shoreline in Puget Sound has – according to a survey recently release by the Trust -- shrunk to just 16 percent of the land. That 16 percent gets even smaller when you consider that a lot of that shoreline is on islands.
Everyone needs access to the quiet communion of nature. It centers us. It sustains us. This is perhaps even more important to people who live in our inner cities. And yet, because of the same ethos that limited access to those beaches, we also see a dearth of open and green space in our core urban areas.
Throw in the mounting consensus about global warming, and the future offers a potentially devastating mix of unhealthy prospects for our land, our water and – ultimately -- our way of life in the Pacific Northwest. A survey my office has just completed of how our region would look in 45 years, if current social, economic and environmental trends continue, paints a stark picture:
In 2050 salmon, whales and other species native to Puget Sound will be near extinction or gone; smog, sprawl and day-long traffic congestion will replace our sweeping scenic vistas as the dominant feature of our landscape; the air will be harder to breath; and global warming will raise the elevation of the annual snowpack in the Cascades by one thousand feet.
That means more than just shortening our ski season. The Cascade snowpack provides over 90 percent of our water needs; which means that -- if we don't change our approach -- we'll run out of water.
As a result of all these effects, our communities will be increasingly unhealthy places to live.
And if the culture of antagonism and political stalemate in our nation's capital continues, we'll be hard pressed to count on leadership from the federal government.
The lesson behind these conditions is this: plan for the best, but prepare for the worst, and invest in the things you know will last. I think the best investments are in relationships that have direct bearing on the local landscape, like the one we have today with the Trust for Public Land.
The fact is we need to work among ourselves – across public and private sector boundaries -- to develop stronger relationships, and an entirely new set of tools in our approach to conservation. At a time when national regulations are not providing the standard we need for our environment, we must work to encourage conservation through incentives at the local level.
In King County, with the help of conservation groups like The Trust for Public Land and others, as well as strong growth management legislation at the state level, we are successfully using new tools of economic incentive and innovative partnership to preserve open space, protect farmland and encourage growth where it makes the most sense.
Through these collaborative approaches we have been able to protect over 13,000 acres of productive farmland, create over 175 miles of regional trails, and preserve 130,000 acres of forest and open space.
Inside our tool box, we offer several incentive programs for the individual landowner all designed to encourage conservation and appropriate uses.
First, is the public benefit rating system, which offers tax advantages to property owners who agree to voluntarily conserve and protect land resources including open space, agricultural land and forest. Landowners are rewarded for going above and beyond what the regulations require. Points are awarded for open space resources, like wetlands, historic landmarks or trail linkages. The points translate into a percentage reduction in property taxes.
Right now in King County some 500 landowners and more than five-thousand acres are involved in this program.
The other two programs for the small property owner have to do with development rights.
Our "transfer of development rights" program is a market-driven initiative built for the private sector with public sector facilitation. A developer in the urban area can buy development rights from a property owner in the rural area of King County. The rural property owner gets a financial reward for not developing that property, the urban developer can build more densely and King County is able to promote growth in areas where we want it. Thus, incentives guide development where it is most appropriate.
With the ever-increasing pressure for more developable space, preserving farmland is a major challenge. In 1979 voters approved a $50 million ballot measure to protect farms. The Farmland Preservation Program was the first voter-approved measure in the nation to protect agriculture in a metropolitan area. Under it, King County has bought the rights to over 12,800 acres. The cost of land remains low because it does not have the potential for development, so it can more easily be purchased for agricultural use.
We also have initiatives to encourage the kind of conservation that brings the biggest positive impact on our environment. Our stewardship program allows property owners to reduce vegetation on their property if they commit to preserving the most important part of their land, be it a wetland, critical habitat, or trail connection.
We also protect the rural areas of our county and its important agricultural heritage with tools like our Farm Plan that allows farmers to prioritize farming and best management practices in exchange for reduced regulatory requirements.
Conservation is not just about working with individuals, but about fulfilling a comprehensive vision for our county. This is where the Trusts work has paid off in spades.
King County recently unveiled a program we call "Greenprint," that strategically directs our land acquisition and conservation policies. The vision was developed by the Trust using innovation to apply a tool for assessing urban parks and open space and adapting it to the county as a whole. Think of it as a GIS system on steroids: a dynamic analytical tool to protect an additional 100,000 acres of open space and resource lands by 2010 and strengthen a green infrastructure capable of ensuring that our incredible natural assets are safeguarded for generations to come.
Greenprint identifies a contiguous corridor of green from the shores of Puget Sound to the crest of the Cascade Mountains. It ensures that our Cascade Foothills remain forested, that critical salmon habitat is protected, that missing links in our trail system are completed, and that citizens are protected from floods.
We are grateful to the Trust for there incredible "outside the box" work on Greenprint.
King County has been very successful in putting deals together to conserve large blocks of land through partnerships with non-profits, private corporations and local jurisdictions in a way that meets everyone's needs.
In 1999 TPL stepped in to save the 400-acre Tollgate Farm, a crucial link in our regional network of open space and a vital wildlife corridor, and worked with the County and other partners to leverage millions of dollars for its successful purchase.
And the list goes on from there, with names like: Preston Edge, Cougar Mountain, Meadowbrook Farms and Rattlesnake Mountain. Thousands of acres, millions of dollars, organized by the county and TPL, in collaboration with scores of partnerships.
You get the picture.
If you look in your materials, you'll see a handout called "Smart Conservation – The Anatomy of Two Deals." This is a case study of two collaborative agreements using most of the tools in the toolbox.
Under the Black Diamond Open Space Agreement, the City of Black Diamond, a conservation organization and King County will protect more than 4,500 acres of open space and working forest, enhance recreational opportunities and re-direct development of homes and businesses away from a beautiful forested area.
The deal places a conservation easement on 1,600 acres of forested land owned by the developer. That easement triggers more than $2 million in matching federal "Forest Legacy" funds which will go to purchase conservation easements on an additional 2,000 acres of forest. Development that would have taken place in the conserved area will now occur inside the town, much closer to existing utilities and infrastructure. This arrangement also preserves hundreds of acres of open space within the city.
In short, it's a great deal for the rural city, it's a great deal for us; it's a great deal for the developer, and it's a great deal for the environment and the people who treasure it.
The second deal -- outlined on the back of your handout -- is the Carnation Girl Scout Camp transfer of development rights. Here, King County negotiated the sale of development rights from a beloved girls scout camp in a beautiful rural setting, to an in-city developer looking to add residential space in one of Seattle's fastest growing neighborhoods. The developer gets room to offer 28,000 square feet of additional living space in-town while the Girl Scouts get to continue offering outdoor experiences to thousands of girls, for generations to come. All told, the sale of development rights by the Girl Scouts brings them more than $1.2 million in cash.
I don't know how many boxes of "Thin Mints" $1.2 million dollars translates into, but I'm pretty sure we just saved them a lot of door-knocking.
I noticed that, later today, you are going to discuss how open space promotes healthier communities. Let me show you my side of that coin.
The more work we do in land use, transportation, and the environment, the more I have come to realize how interconnected they all are in their affect on the health of a community. My office has just completed a groundbreaking Land Use, Transportation, Air Quality and Health Study – we call it "LUTAQH" for short. It's the first study of its kind for a local government and the conclusions were stunning in their breadth and scope. It shows that land use policies enabling sprawl also encourage more congested traffic, dirtier air, fewer pedestrian amenities and, as a result, unhealthier people. LUTAQH literally describes the link between sprawl and poor health.
Our study shows that combining good pedestrian and public transportation connections with a mix of land uses reduces vehicle emissions per capita. Lower emissions make for healthier communities and reduce greenhouse gases.
The study also finds that increasing the kinds of transportation options in a community -- everything from bike lanes to rapid transit – means fewer miles driven in automobiles; up to 26 percent fewer miles per person. The more rapid transit buses and bike trails -- the more walk-able an area, the cleaner the air, the higher the level of physical fitness in a community.
We found that buses and walking are highly synergistic – that's why, just this week, I announced a proposed ballot measure to raise funds to increase the bus service we provide throughout the county—the biggest transit expansion in 20 years.
Perhaps just as importantly, the LUTAQH Study demonstrates that breaking down disciplinary barriers – those that hinder comprehensive solutions -- must be a paramount concern for civic leaders everywhere. That's why our relationship with the Trust is so important.
While our geography and demographics may be unique, the tools and approaches for protecting the environment and the health of King County can be duplicated throughout the nation. The incentive programs, partnerships and other tools we employ apply to everyone, everywhere.
As we reinvent our approach to the landscape to match our visions of sustainability, our urban areas are going to increase in density. We'll need these tools I've talk about -- not just for the farms and the forests -- but to make sure our core urban areas get the parks and open spaces they must have in order to thrive.
As I said before, it's essential that every community have access to the restorative power of parks and open space.
Perhaps the most important thing that local leaders need to remember is: it's not just one hammer and one nail. It's a variety of tools that can be used in a number of situations.
Over the years, I've built partnerships with developers large and small; with local governments, state managers, farmers, timber companies, tribal governments and land conservancies, and more than a few concerned bird watchers.
The common denominator we all share is a healthy landscape that will sustain a quality of life that is deeply cherished.
A future that includes global warming, population growth, water scarcity, and development encroachment will sorely test us all.
But therein lays our brightest promise; because we all know that the real answers to the world's challenges begin right where they started – right in our own back yards.
Fulfilling this promise requires each of us to recognize the other's self-interest and which part of that self-interest is in synch with our own.
After negotiating these kinds of agreements for the past decade, my experience tells me that – with the right tools in everyone's hands - the answers will surprise you.
Thank you for asking me to speak with you today.