The Service Tree lists all services in "branched" groups, starting with the very general and moving to the very specific. Click on the name of any group name to see the sub-groups available within it. Click on a service code to see its details and the providers who offer that service.
Land Conservation
Programs that seek to prevent the conversion of productive agricultural land to non-agricultural purposes and defend it from alternative development, primarily through the designation of agricultural land within regional comprehensive land use plans and local zoning stipulations. Also included are programs that purchase of development rights to privately owned farmland as a means of protecting existing properties in sufficient quantities to assure long-term agricultural viability. Permanent covenants and restrictions prevent development or other non-agricultural uses of the property and farm owners, who generally participate on a voluntary basis, retain title to their land. Agricultural land is land used primarily for the production of plant or animal crops, including arable agriculture, dairying, pasturage, apiaries, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, animal husbandry and the necessary lands and structures needed for packing, processing, treating, or storing the produce.
Programs that are responsible for managing the resources which occur on or in conjunction with forest lands and for protecting forests from insects, disease, fire, erosion, air pollution and other destructive forces. Services may include planning and prescribing forest uses and practices; directing land surveys, road construction and the planting and harvesting of trees; working cooperatively with public land management agencies, states and owners of private forest lands to provide more scientific management of forest resources; and ensuring that timber harvesting methods protect the lands and streams, assure rapid renewal of the forest, provide food and cover for wildlife and fish, and have minimum impact on scenic and recreational values.
Programs that conserve land resources by purchasing or otherwise acquiring endangered land and/or all or some of the rights to that land and holding the land in trust or deeding it to public authorities (such as the U.S. Interior Department) or to private organizations for conservation, care and protection in perpetuity. Land banks/trusts may also be a vehicle used by communities for other types of land acquisition initiatives such as preserving affordable housing or acquiring and rehabilitating foreclosed properties.
Programs that are responsible for overseeing lands owned by the state or federal government and for issuing permits and/or leases to organizations that want access to public lands including school lands, state-owned tidelands, submerged lands and swamp and overflowed lands for profit-making or public-benefit ventures such as surface leasing or the extraction of sand, minerals, oil, gas or geothermal energy.
Programs that are responsible for working with landowners and other land users and developers to ensure that land utilization practices protect farmlands, forests and open spaces, many of which are being converted to urban uses, from unnecessary erosion and sedimentation or other destruction. Services may include development of soil and land capability studies and maps to ascertain appropriate uses for specific tracts of land; development of conservation plans for specific areas which include measures for protecting and preserving waterways and vegetation, which provide for flood protection, and which show the location of conservation devices such as dikes, water diversions, terraces, dams, reservoirs, water conduits, grassed waterways and plantings of grass, trees and shrubs; and consultation and technical assistance for individuals, particularly farmers, who want to ensure that their lands are adequately protected.