Sprawl eating away at state

Colo. farms, ranches may lose 3.1 million more acres by 2022

Rocky Mountain News

Published April 5, 2006 at midnight

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Colorado may lose another 3.1 million acres of farmland and ranch land to development by 2022, the Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center said Tuesday.

About 700 acres of agricultural land is converted to other uses, including development, each day, said Pam Kiely, the center's land-use specialist.

Colorado has lost 1.26 million acres of farm and ranch land to development since 1997 and the impacts have included air and water pollution and tapped-out groundwater supplies, she said.

"Loss of farmlands impact the environment, the economy and the very landscapes that define us as a state," Kiely said.

The center used statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the analysis and projected the rate of land conversion ahead to 2022, she said.

"We're not telling anyone not to sell their land. We're not telling developers they are ruining the state," Kiely said.

"We're asking that everyone take a step back and see how the changes impact them and how we can work together toward a productive solution."

Federal water-quality studies in several river basins have found that urban development fouls streams and aquifers with septic systems, lawn fertilizers, runoff after storms and common household chemicals, she said.

Agribusiness, which includes farming, feedlots, ranching, fruit orchards and organic vegetable growing, generates more than $16 billion a year and is the state's second largest industry, she said.

"One-third of Colorado counties are dependent on agricultural income and employment," said John Stencel, president of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union.

"The loss of prime farmlands should concern everyone," he said.

Eric Berman, director of the state's Office of Smart Growth, said he works with communities to evaluate the costs and benefits of developing agricultural lands.

"There's a ton of costs to growth and a ton of benefits," he said. "The trick is to balance them."

Shrinking ag lands

Agricultural land lost between 1997 and 2002 in Colorado:

• 1.26 million: Acres of farm, ranch land that were developed.

• 690: Average number of acres lost per day.

• Third: Colorado's rank, behind Texas and New Mexico, for agricultural land lost.Source: Environment Colorado Research And Policy Center

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