The Advantages of Private Conservation There is a vast literature written by philosophers, economists, political scientists and others on the moral and material superiority of voluntary, private actions over a system based on politics and government commands. Private conservation efforts, like land trusts, embody these virtues. Landowners are compensated for their land, instead of having its value taken out from under them. Taxpayers are not asked to finance amenities they neither want nor need.
Private conservation preserves both the environment and individual liberty.
Of course, there are those who believe that nature trumps individual rights, and it is easier to lock-up land with government muscle and money than through private action. However for a society that values both nature and liberty, it is better that these decisions be left as much as possible to private transactions, rather than political combat in the courts and legislature. Private conservation does offer advantages for those who care deeply about the environment. It is hard for elected officials to deny citizens these wishes, since after all, their taxes paid for the land in the first place. Private conservation allows those who place highest value on pristine nature, in this case the members of the land trust, to ensure that it gets top priority in land use.