More on that private easement in Washington County

Star Tribune Tue, 11 Dec 2007 04:54:20 GMT
Washington County eyes 600 acres for preservation

The county's voter-approved Land and Water Legacy Program might purchase five tracts of private land to guard water quality, prevent development and save the areas for public use. ... County commissioners will review the proposals at a workshop. Any purchases would be intended to guard water quality and natural land from further development. Commissioners are expected to decide next week whether county officials can begin negotiations with the landowners, who in most cases would sell outright to the county or agree to put their land in conservation easement, which means it wouldn't be developed. All of the properties have streams that feed into impaired waters, said Jane Harper, the county's principal planner. Preserving those natural areas, she said, will help prevent further sediment contamination along the St. Croix River. Six of the properties are adjacent to land already in permanent protection, and four others are nearby, she said.

[[keywords: LandUse;Metro;]]