ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors describe their vision of an optimal future urban and rural landscape for the United States. They define this vision as measurable goals, and outline a national policy for achieving these goals. In recognition of political reality, they also outline some more modest changes at the federal level to improve the climate for farmland preservation at the state and local levels. Their focus in this chapter is national. The twenty-two case studies following this chapter offer a variety of state and local perspectives. Also, several excellent books including Saving American Farmland: What Works (AFT), Holding Our Ground: Protecting America's Farmland (Daniels and Bowers), and Saving America's Countryside: A Guide to Rural Conservation describe in detail the laws and techniques that communities can use to protect their farmland. Not only can the right policies at the federal level support local farmland preservation, but also the wrong policies can, and are, contributing to the failure of many local efforts.
