I remember thinking we would figure out the details later and that,
anyway, I could not afford an attorney. Things did not work out as I had
hoped. We went our separate ways with the man taking some of my most
cherished ideas and recipes. I was left with the lesson that my
reluctance to invest wisely at the time had shortchanged my future.
In various iterations this story is sadly common and often repeated. As it is for individuals, so it is for communities.
From roads to health care to energy, education and conservation, we
constantly struggle with balancing the needs of our todays with the
aspirations of our tomorrows.
This is the context for the yearly conversation at Town Meeting as the
voters consider a contribution to the Warren Conservation Reserve Fund.
Last year the town voted to add $20,000 to the reserve fund. This year,
in recognition of the still struggling economy, the Warren Conservation
Commission is requesting $10,000 to be added to the reserve fund. This
amounts to about $6 per household for a median-valued home.
The purpose of the fund is to use market-based systems rather than rule
or law to protect the town's heritage and safeguard sensitive natural
resources. Like a personal retirement account, a conservation reserve
fund works best when supported by slow and steady contributions.
There are two great and opposing trends in the evolution of our landscape.
Like many towns in Vermont, Warren continues to experience development
pressure. Although the recent recession temporarily slowed residential
construction, the long-term trend lines all point in the same direction.
By 2020, for example, Warren is projected to have over 300 more homes
than it had in 2000, according to the Central Vermont Planning
Commission. After over 100 years of forest expansion from farmland
abandonment, Vermont's forested lands are shrinking. Forest holdings
are becoming smaller and this parcelization is leading to ecosystem
fragmentation, which puts regional biodiversity at risk.
At the same time, large unfragmented holdings are being conserved by
land trusts, forest societies, towns and individual landowners. And in a
particularly hopeful sign for the needs of far-ranging animals such as
bear and bobcat, contiguous parcels thousands of acres in size called
"super-sanctuaries" are being imagined and slowly pieced together in a
process not unlike how the Mad River Path Association is assembling
rights of way for an unbroken trail from Warren to Moretown.
If the question is why, as in "why bother?" or "what's in it for me?"
the answer is that this is about the soul of our town - of what it looks
and feels like - for us and for those who follow. And it is about our
natural heritage.
Natural heritage, or biological diversity, is not a luxury. From
bacteria to bears, from phytoplankton to mighty white pines - these too
are our neighbors - and darn good ones at that. They sequester carbon,
produce oxygen, filter water, recycle much of our waste, help our
gardens grow, feed us, house us, and in the warmth of the year fill our
fields with flowers and the air with song. A walk in the woods is about
as good a thing you can do for your health, and there is maybe no better
place to find a constructive perspective on the troubles we invariably
face.
Nature is beautiful, but it is more than that; it is essential.
To truly safeguard Warren's natural heritage is a substantial
undertaking, but it is one that we do not have to do alone. There are
many partners willing to help, but it is important that we contribute to
the process for we are the primary beneficiaries of the conservation
that happens here. If we are unwilling to support our own conservation,
how can we expect others to help? And, if we do nothing, the forces of
development will eventually overwhelm our environment, and the unique
symmetry of nature and people that for so long has defined this place
and enriched our lives will be lost.
We, the members of the Warren Conservation Commission, respectfully
request your support for the conservation reserve fund at Town Meeting
Tuesday, March 1. Thank you.
The Warren Conservation Commission members include George Schenk,
Caitrin Noel, Robin Bennett, Margo Wade, Jim Edgcomb, Damon Reed, Robin
Bleier and Kate Wanner.
