Government Urban Sprawl Regulation As you drive through Kansas on Highway 54 and look at the beautiful green farmlands that stretch for miles, it's hard to believe that in many places they have been destroyed by urbanization expand, until you get within 15 miles of Witchita and see where it happened. Since the early 1980s, more than 4 million acres of agricultural land have been consumed by urban expansion ("Agriculture"1). Despite the fact that so much farmland has been lost, Edward L. Hudgins, editor of Regulator magazine and director of regulatory studies at the CATO Institute, believes: Whatever your preference, it should be none of the government's business or business. of your fellow citizens. Ideally you should live where and how you want, and let others do the same. (Cooper 881b) Apparently, Mr. Hudgins has not yet been informed that this is not an ideal world; this is a world where greedy, irresponsible land developers build subdivisions and never think or care about how it affects the land. This lack of respect for the land is what has forced the government and “fellow citizens,” in the form of conservation organizations, to use tools such as land trusts, protective zoning, and tax breaks to protect much-needed agricultural land ; because without their help it would become extinct. Many people have responded to the ever-growing threat of urban sprawl by banding together and forming farm trusts (organizations that work to protect farmland through conservation easements, education, and assisting the government in creating public policy). Conservation easements give the farmer monetary compensation in exchange for limiting future land development on his property; This program is based on the idea that the owner of land has a number of rights over that land, one of which is the choice of how to use it. Once a land organization purchases the agricultural conservation easement of a piece of property, that organization has the right to limit future uses of the land that could affect future agricultural use (“Purchase”1). Purchasing conservation easements is also an effective tool used by organizations attempting to protect ranches and open spaces (Cooper871inb). A second tool used by land trusts, education, attempts to raise public awareness of how urban sprawl is threatening agricultural land and why this threat must be stopped ("Information"1). The final, and most important, way these organizations protect at-risk farmland is by working with government at all levels to formulate public policies that address the problems facing farmers and farmland in this country. face..