The role of the Conservation Reserve Program in controlling rural residential development

Rural population growth in the form of residential development frequently r esults in the loss of agricultural productive land as well as loss of adjac ent open space that often characterizes rural communities. A land-use predi ction model was used to determine what influence the USDA Conservation Rese rve Program (CRP) may have on urban sprawl and rural community sustainabili ty. The model demonstrated that the projected mean rural residential growth rate was almost half the growth rate with CRP as compared to without CRP i n the local land management mix. In addition, ecosystem integrity on the la nd surrounding a rural community was sharply increased with the introductio n of CRP. However, community economics and subsequent social character of t he community may have been significantly impacted by CRP. In order to parti ally mitigate CRP-induced community impacts we propose future CRP guideline s support the establishment of within-production field scale ecological ref uges. These refuges would satisfy the conservation requirements of the prog ram, return a level of traditional agricultural production to the land mana gement mix, and provide the adjacent community with aesthetic and recreatio nal amenities that are frequently associated with modern rural economies. ( C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.