11/03/2006

Pro: Vote yes for better future

BY GEORGE WELLMAN

A U.S. Senator once said, "Sir, you are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not entitled to invent your own facts." When it comes to funding the County's Farmland Preservation Program, let's state the honest facts.

There are 160,000 acres of land available for development in Leelanau, but we only have 40,000 acres of farmland left. Leelanau lost over 10,000 acres — 20 percent — of its working farm acreage since 1990 and over 1.5 million acres in Michigan since 1985 (MSU statistics). Unless we change course, losses of our working farms will continue to mount.

Is there a solution? Yes! Farmland preservation programs are working all over America, including Old Mission, but "¦ they do not work without local funding. Ours won't either without passage of this ballot measure.

Separating fact from fiction

Make an informed choice on Nov. 7. Consider the statements of those for and against. Are they credible, especially when opponents say they want farmland preservation but not a levy, yet they've never offered any alternative plan?

Myth: 9 of 1,100 farms are interested.

Fact: Sixty percent of Leelanau's 400-plus total farmers (not 1,100) want a funded program. Most are quiet, but 50 farmers owning over 10,000 acres publicly support a "yes" vote.

Myth: This a subsidy.

Fact: Untrue. Farmers sell an asset — the ability to build a subdivision. The land is permanently protected for farming, now and for future generations. They still own the farm, can invest the return, and later sell to another farmer. Without a functioning program, their main option is to sell out.

Myth: It will be more expensive to live and farm here.

Fact: Actually, sprawl typically creates tax hikes much higher than a half-mil, making it more expensive for residents, young families, farmers. For farmers, it's worse because they must farm around sprawl.

Myth: Fifteen years is too long.

Fact: This is no experiment. Locally funded farmland programs have been working in America for decades. We need 15 years to do the job right.

Myth: Tourists only come for the shoreline and water.

Fact: The Chambers of Commerce for Leelanau County, Suttons Bay and Traverse City have endorsed this proposal. Leelanau's irreplaceable orchards and vineyards cannot be replicated elsewhere. Pavement is the final crop.

The Decision is Yours

When it comes to protecting farmland we ask you to commit to something of immense benefit for everyone now and future generations. There are two choices. One is to buy into the half-truths, misconceptions and the "no-plan" status quo — one that's caused a loss of 10,000 acres since 1990. It's someone else's problem. Say to our farm families, "It's your problem, not mine."

The other asks a little more of you. It asks you to think beyond protecting your pocketbook by supporting a proven solution to a brighter, more prosperous future.

Young or old, Republican, Democrat or Independent, well-off, low-income or in-between, people say "yes" to farmland preservation when they have the facts. Please join us. It's the right thing for Leelanau.

George Wellman has been a Leelanau County landowner since 1988. He is president of Save Leelanau Farmland.