Aldo Leopold, one of the founders of America’s conservation movement, once wrote that “Conservation will ultimately boil down to rewarding the private landowner who conserves the public interest.” With 70 percent of land in the United States privately owned, it’s imperative that property owners have incentives to invest in conservation that benefits them and the wider environmental landscape. Conservation needs to make economic sense to landowners, and property rights, along with functioning markets, are essential tools for getting those conservation incentives right.
From clean water to wildlife habitat to ecological diversity, the countless conservation benefits generated by private landowners extend far beyond property lines. For instance, stream restoration on private land can provide much-needed cold water and trout for downstream public waters.
The idea that property rights can improve environmental quality originated at PERC more than four decades ago, and there’s no better example than private land stewardship. Today, we continue to research ways that property rights and markets promote creative conservation and reward private landowners who conserve the public interest.
A growing body of research shows just how important private landowners are to the success of wildlife conservation efforts worldwide, including the 30 by 30 initiative.
Conserving migration corridors will be achieved not by designation or regulation, but through voluntary incentives and market signals that reward landowners for conservation.
If the answer is saving America's greatest wildlife region, then a more valiant and courageous effort aimed at conserving private lands needs to begin right now.