Tractors Versus Bulldozers: Integrating Growth Management and Ecosystem Services to Conserve Agriculture

Abstract

Most policies aimed at conserving agriculture have failed because they are not comprehensive enough. A successful program accounts for maintenance of agricultural viability, preservation of ecosystem services, and management of development into desired areas. Growth management, the interdisciplinary expansion of land use planning, provides an institutional structure for this comprehensive solution. Florida provides a perfect laboratory for integrating these concepts, with its unparalleled natural resources, a strong agricultural industry, and one of the strongest growth management systems in the nation. This Article bridges the gap between theory and practice, using the Rural Lands Stewardship Act (RLSA) and the Florida Ranchlands Environmental Services Project (FRESP) as case studies. These cases show progress is being made to integrate growth management and ecosystem services to conserve agriculture.

Keywords: Agriculture, Ecosystem Services, Growth Management, Florida, Planning, Rural Lands Stewardship, Florida Ranchlands Environmental Services Project, RLSA, FRESP

JEL Classification: N52, R14, R11