Thanks to Jim Rosenberg for the heads up about the severe level of sprawl in the Triad. Rosenberg said: "Saving the park also makes good business sense. Corporate site selection is increasingly focusing on sprawl"
"Smart Growth America, a Washington, D.C. - based advocacy group has released the results of a three year study..."The three metro areas with the greatest sprawl, at least according to the SGA study, are Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.; Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, N.C.; and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., respectively."
" Sprawl and "policy recommendations": Not surprisingly, the SGA study also comes with "six policy recommendations to reduce sprawl and promote smarter growth" for "regions wishing to improve their quality of life." Those recommendations include:
"Reinvest in neglected communities and provide more housing opportunities;"
"Rehabilitate abandoned properties;"
"Encourage new development or redevelopment in already built up areas;"
"Create and nurture thriving, mixed-use centers of activity;"
"Support growth management strategies;" and
"Craft transportation policies that complement smarter growth."
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Great cities have great parks! What would New York City be without Central Park? If Guilford county wants to be great we must invest in Green Spaces too!!!
The New Haw River State Park should not be converted into a Million Dollar Manision Community. It should not be converted do to the following factors, It will cost a whole lots of money to first get all the sewrage lines, water lines, electricity line, running. The land will cost about or over 289 billion dollars if you let it be destroyed. If you preserve the land then it will cost even more in a couple of years. It will be better for our ecosystem if we preserve the land then have it made into a Million Dollar Manision Community. You will also have to wait months or even a couple of years for the Million Dollar Mansions to be sold so that will also cost you over million or even billions of dollars. If you do let the Community to develope you will also be destroying habitats of different species that are or can become extinct. This will prove to be a very bad decision for our ecosystem as well as a downfall for our financial system.(Sorry i cannot give you the amount of money the Mansion community will cost you do to the fact that i do not have the numbers).
The New Haw River state park should not sold to allow the development of a new gated community and an exclusive golf course. If we sell the Haw River state park we will be losing up to 2,407.31344 billion dollars, which will include 8.4981 million dollars of value per acre and 283.38 hectares. The Haw River State park was useful for recreation and because an s the population grows there is a greater demand for outdoor recreation, and some areas of the state are underserved. At the same time, the pressures of development threaten sites that contain wetlands, rare species, and other special features of our natural heritage that should be protected for the future. The timetable for building state park facilities depends entirely on the amount of time it takes to acquire sufficient property to both protect the natural resources and allow for recreational use. If we give up this land we would loose billions of dollars for example: area of lakes and rivers, water cost supplies, food production, as well as recreation value. The Haw River State park developments may include facilities for day use activities such as: picnicking, hiking and visiting. So, in my opinion selling the Haw River State park is a bad idea for the ecosystem today and in the future.
The land next to the northern border of the Haw River should not be sold to allow the development of a new gated community and an exclusive golf course. If we sell the Haw River state park we will be losing up to 2,407.31344 billion dollars, which will include 8.4981 million dollars of value per acre and 283.38 hectares. Each year the population grows and more people want to go to state parks, and when they go they want to see a huge beautiful place. For example, preliminary figures for Hanging Rock State Park show about $8 million added to the economy each year. If we decide not to sell the land then we will profit more from the tourists that visit every year. If we give up this land we would loose billions of dollars for example: area of lakes and rivers, water cost supplies, food production, as well as recreation value. The Bluegreen Corp. also plans to later on-site treated sewage will be sprayed on the golf course. These actions, along with runoff, fertilizer, and chemical applications will cause irreparable harm to the current state park and the Haw River. The 100,000 gallons of water the development intends to draw from the river for up to seven years would adversely affect life downstream. The Haw River already has problems with the amount of water in the river during the summer time, so if the golf course will be using 100,000 gallons a day then the river will be at a loss even more. So in consideration of the river I don’t think the golf course or gated community should be allowed to be built.
The nearly seven hundred acre parcel on the border of Guilford county and Rockingham county should be added to the emerging Haw River State Park, instead of to the development of a gated community and exclusive golf course. Not only does the preservation of wildlife habitat and the protection of the depleting natural areas in our county good for the community and those who enjoy the park, but in the long run, this land could save people and the government millions of dollars! The question probably going through your mind right now is “How exactly can preserving a couple hundred of acres save millions of dollars?” I’ll explain this through one key concept- ecosystem capital. Ecosystem capital is basically the sum of all goods and services provided by ecosystems, which in this case would be the land along our northern border supporting a great deal of wildlife, free of charge, which is essential to support human lifestyles and well-being. Ecosystem capital provides goods, regulation, services, and nature that may be enjoyed by anyone. The land is occupied not only by living creatures, but contains a forest, lake, and river. If developed into a gated community and exclusive golf course, the land will be cleared and 100,000 gallons of water will be sucked out to keep a private golf course green. A forest the size of around 700 acres containing a lake and river provides hundreds of millions of dollars worth of goods, regulation, services, and nature; such as climate regulation, disturbance regulation, water regulation, water supply storage/water retention, erosion control/ sediment retention, soil formation, nutrient cycling, waste treatment, biological control, food production, provision of raw materials, provision of genetic resources, provision of opportunities for recreational activities, and provision of opportunities for cultural, non-commercial uses. Preserving the forest, lake, and river would save over half a billion dollars per year, 601,718,788 dollars to be exact!
Finally, on top of all of these, the state of North Carolina has the funds available to purchase the land for the park, and budgeted just for this type of project. Everyone should be concerned of the destruction of natural ecosystems because if people don’t care for this earth who will? Rockingham County should be especially concerned, considering they would see little tax revenue from the handful of homes on its side of the border, but would get stuck with a sewage-treatment plant in the bargain. Remember saving an ecosystem will provide many supplies and services for a society while destroying an ecosystem will greatly deplete our resources which are priceless. Also remember that by saving a couple hundred acres of land will literally save millions of dollars! The choice should be incredibly easy and far too good to turn down; we do want a growing Haw River State Park placed by the border of Guilford County and Rockingham County for the long lasting benefit of the community.
Turning the border of the Haw River State Park into a new gated community and a exclusive golf course would be disastrous. If the Florida development company, Bluegreen Corp, wants to waste billions of dollars on unneeded homes and a, so called exclusive, golf course then let them do it somewhere other than Guilford County. Not only will Guilford County loose future money sources,if we allow this no sense to continue but we will also be loosing our wetland and some of our rare species it preserves. Rockingham County will also loose out on something because the water treatment systems they installed will be pointless. Bluegreen Corp will be the only people benefiting, along with the future home owners and golf players. However, they maybe overlooking the facts. They will not only have to buy the land, but they will also have to spend money installing sewer, water and electricity lines. I, myself, have visited the state park and it is a beauty. It is something that we as citzens of Guilford County should treasure because it is a rare thing in today's society. If only the Guilford County Board of Commisioners could see that we benefit more with The State Park than we would with any new gated community and its, so called exclusive, golf course. As a matter of opinion, doesn't Guilford County have enough useless golf courses?
In the case of Haw River being expanded it is clear that it should be. The building of million dollar homes as well as a golf course would take away the 2400 billion dollars of worth that the land provides in goods and services. That number is the current ecosystem value of the land based off the article that can be found at the following link.
http://www.esd.ornl.gov/benefits_conference/nature_paper.pdf
The reason why a dollar value must be placed on the land is because the only way to prove that extending the park it worth while is to prove that there is money in it. A council can view houses as pure tax revenue; it’s all about the money. That downside to that is we have no idea what the tax worth may be or how long the houses will stand empty. However even if they are left empty once they are built the ecosystem capital worth is lost. That is why the Haw River State Park should be extended.
WHAT?!?!?!
whats this?
The posts above were wriiten by my AP Environmental Science students as a class project. We read Mr Cone's article on the Haw River State Park situation. This article was published in the 09/16 issue of the Greensboro News and Record. The students are learing how to apply the concept of the value of "ecosystem capital" in arguing for ecosystem preservation in the face of suburban and exurban development pressure. The dollar/cents figures are a little off, but at least they are getting the right idea on how to use this powerful tool in environmental debates
Thhanks for this
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