The rate of the development of land exceeds by far both the rate of population growth and the rate of open space conservation. Government cannot, and should not, have the sole responsibility for maintaining and preserving the public benefit of open spaces. If conservation efforts are to succeed, private landowners must be active and willing participants. Well over half of all imperiled species are found on private land, and many exclusively so. The species found on private lands are declining more rapidly than are those on publicly held lands.
Landowners have a stake in the quality of their community's environment.
They also have a right to realize economic benefits of their investment in land. Tax incentives for conservation provide a mechanism for meeting both of these interests. Two kinds of tax incentives for conservation currently exist in the federal tax code. These benefits can make it possible for landowners to meet both conservation and financial goals if they have an income sufficient to utilize the tax deduction. But there are many landowners with income too low, or land so valuable, that these provisions are not financially beneficial.