'Urban sprawl' doubled during '90s

December 7, 1999

Web posted at: 1:33 PM EST (1833 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans have doubled the

development of farmland, forests and other open space

during the 1990s, according to a government report that

is likely to fuel the debate over suburban sprawl.

Nearly 16 million acres of land were converted to

development between 1992 and 1997 -- a rate of 3.2

million per year, the Agriculture Department said

Monday. Between 1982 and 1992, the development rate

was 1.4 million acres a year.

The development has driven up land values, providing a

windfall to many farmers who live near cities and

choose to sell out. But critics of the trend, including Vice

President Al Gore, say that it is hurting the environment

and quality of living around the nation's cities.

"These new figures confirm what communities across

America already know -- too much of our precious open

space is being gobbled up by sprawl," said Gore, who

has made suburban development an issue in his

presidential campaign. "We need to help communities

grow in ways that work."

The development rate jumped more than fivefold in

Pennsylvania, from 43,110 acres a year between 1982

and 1992 to 224,640 acres a year from 1992 to 1997.

Altogether, 1.1 million acres of land in the state were

converted to development during the five-year period,

second only to Texas' 1.2 million acres.

Pennsylvania "prides itself on its farmland, so it must be

especially distressful to them," said Deron Lovaas, a

spokesman for the Sierra Club.

In Texas, the annual conversion rate jumped from

139,000 acres to 243,900 acres.

Texas and Pennsylvania were followed by Georgia,

Florida, North Carolina, California, Tennessee and

Michigan.

Some states and cities attempt to curb farmland

development by paying farmers to stay in business.

By voluntarily selling easements, farmers continue to

own the land they till but are barred from pursuing

nonfarm activities. Supporters say the programs help

channel sprawl and maintain farm clusters needed to

ensure a viable agricultural supply and support network.

The 1996 federal farm law set aside $35 million over

six years to supplement state and local efforts, but the

money lasted only three years and met fewer than one in

five requests. Bills are pending in Congress to renew the

programs at $55 million a year. Gore said the Clinton

administration would seek a significant increase in

funding for the program for 2001.

The development data are contained in the USDA's

National Resources Inventory, a study that is done every

five years of the nation's nonfederal land, about 75

percent of the land base. The full study was to be

released today.

Data are collected from 800,000 statistically selected

locations on land cover, land use, soil erosion, prime

farmland, wetlands, habitat diversity, selected

conservation practices, and other natural resource

information.

Government economists say the development of farmland

poses no threat to the food supply. Because of improved

crop yields and technology, agricultural output has

increased steadily over time, at nearly 2 percent a year

since 1948, while the amount of land that is being farmed

has declined slightly, according to USDA's Economic

Research Service.