Daily Oklahoman Editorial

Oklahoma contains 69,903 square miles, of which 68,679 are not under water. The state's borders encompass about 45 million acres. So is the loss of 35,000 acres of open land every year a reason for concern?

Land Legacy believes it is. The nonprofit stewardship trust is doing something about the loss of land to development, particularly in the state's more scenic areas and on its richest soils. Through the purchase of conservation easements, Land Legacy is taking prime land off the table for future development.

Land Legacy was formed in 2003 in partnership with the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Trust for Public Land. Its work not only involves protecting prime farm and ranch lands. City parks and urban trails are also on the agenda.

This is the only statewide land trust in a state with abundant land (Oklahoma ranks 20th in the nation in geographic size). With offices in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Land Legacy works with cooperative farmers and ranchers to slow the flow of productive agricultural land to development. It works with officials in the state's two largest cities to build parks and trails. Land Legacy is also involved in protecting a critical watershed from encroachment.

A conservation easement involves an agreement by a landowner to maintain the integrity of land rather than sell it for its "highest and best” usage as, say, a housing development. Title to the land remains with the owner. This voluntary program has already taken in numerous tracts across the state.

The land involved is a tiny fraction of the state's whole. Easements typically cover fewer than 1,000 acres per property. Small gains are nevertheless big events because two acres of productive farm and ranch land are lost every hour to development, Land Legacy officials say.

In the Lawton area, Land Legacy is working with the U.S. Army and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect agricultural lands adjacent to Fort Sill. In northeastern Oklahoma, the Spavinaw Creek watershed has been targeted for protection using conservation easements.

A bill was introduced in the 2008 Legislature to create a tax credit for those who transfer land or agree to a conservation easement. Although the bill didn't survive this session, it's an idea that will resurface and should be given serious consideration.

As is true of the national Trust for Public Land and similar state-based efforts in America, Land Legacy snatches little pieces of prime real estate from the jaws of progress. While governments can take land through eminent domain, land trust groups take it by agreement.

A surprising number of rural landowners have agreed with Land Legacy's mission to conserve and enhance a few of Oklahoma's nearly 70,000 square miles.