Perdue announces $100 million plan to preserve land

<p>A year after killing off his predecessor's program to preserve public green space, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced a $100 million initiative of his own on Tuesday, calling it a better way to encourage long-term protection of the state's natural resources.</p><p>The plan will create a trust fund and a revolving loan fund which local governments can use to protect lands which are important for recreational, cultural, environmental or other reasons.</p><p>The money would enable governments to buy the lands outright or to purchase a conservation easement which, while leaving the property in private hands, would effectively bar its development for commercial or other purposes.</p><p>Perdue called the proposal "an investment in our future" and hailed it as "more far-reaching than any previous conservation efforts." He said it "encourages creative partnerships that will allow us to stretch our conservation dollars further."</p><p>He announced the initiative at a news conference in south Fulton County on the grounds of a pioneering, mixed-use community which promotes comprehensive planning and the trading of development rights to preserve greenspace in fragile areas while encouraging higher-density development in others.</p><p>The state's last such program was former Gov. Roy Barnes' Greenspace initiative, which Perdue allowed to languish after defeating Barnes in 2002. A major criticism of the program from the Perdue administration was that it was geared to help urban areas most of all. Perdue's program would be statewide.</p><p>According to the governor's office, $55 million of the money needed to begin the program will come from funds previously allocated for Clean Water Act compliance programs while another $20 million will come from money originally set aside for a reservoir in the district of former House Speaker Tom Murphy.</p><p>The governor is looking for another $25 million in private contributions.</p>

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