Moreover, it creates a sense of entitlement. Local units of government will pester the legislature each year for additional funds, thereby expanding the program and committing more financial resources. Over time, Georgia taxpayers will shoulder a larger tax burden. As building pressures increase, it's important to buy as much surrounding land as possible, especially farmland. Buying small parcels here and there only creates isolated wildlife habitat, and few large pieces for recreation and watershed protection.
Grand objectives are difficult with paltry funding, and land purchases are expensive.
Two ideas gaining in popularity that can protect land without reliance on additional tax dollars are private land trusts and infrastructure privatization. Through a flexible, voluntary, private land trust, landowners can control what lands are protected, in contrast to politicians and bureaucrats deciding which lands to protect or not. Government land-protection programs can also have strings attached. The benefits of land trusts blend long-term protection of the land with economic and tax advantages already provided in the U.S. Tax Code. Through a conservation easement donated to a land trust, landowners can decide how much land to protect and get a tax writeoff for the donation.