Here we can read some good news: folks thinking about quality of life instead of constantly focusing on lining their pockets... my hat is off to all landowners who take action like this, and to the STRIB for publishing this article.

Excerpt from
For love of the land, owners preserve its beauty for future
Star Tribune, January 7, 2006

by Kevin Giles
[READ ENTIRE ARTICLE at http://www.startribune.com/462/story/169804.html]

As John Baird walks his snowy land in Washington County, ears reddened by the wind and boots cinched around his green corduroy pants, he speaks emphatically for conservation, declaring that a "McCastle" will never be built there.

"Look at pictures on your calendars," he said, arguing that people need open spaces. "They're not pictures of shopping malls or industrial space."

It was here, in a meadow north of Stillwater, where Baird, 81, and his wife, Nancy, made their promise to the land. With development closing in, they transferred the rights to more than 150 acres to the Minnesota Land Trust, ensuring the land will remain open for future generations.

The Bairds aren't alone in their passion. A growing number of rural landowners in the metro area and western Wisconsin are resisting overtures from developers -- some involving millions of dollars -- in favor of less lucrative but more rewarding propositions that will preserve their land as open space.

"Property protection has really taken off," said Michelle Dingwall, development director at the West Wisconsin Land Trust in Menomonie. "People are starting to take matters into their own hands. They don't necessarily trust others. They don't want to see it subdivided or developed."