news-record.com

An often overlooked ingredient to prosperous growth is knowing where not to pave and lay brick.

Part of the Triad’s distinctive appeal is its open spaces, where someone had the vision and foresight to preserve pastures, streams and rolling farmlands.

We don’t need strip malls everywhere. Nor do we want them.

Thank goodness the Piedmont Land Conservancy has been around for 20 years to remind us of that.

Over that time, the Greensboro-based nonprofit has saved more than 17,600 acres in nine counties.

Conceived by a group of friends over apple pie and coffee in 1989 and officially founded in 1990, it has worked with like-minded individuals and governments to preserve farms and even create new state parks.

Most recently, it helped shepherd the addition of 322 aces to the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro.

No less impressive than what the Piedmont Land Conservancy does is how it does it: quietly and proactively.

It chooses to work only with landowners who want to preserve their property. In fact, landowners often seek out the conservancy for  help and direction.

It places a premium on partnerships with other organizations and agencies and working constructively toward common goals. And it leverages private and public money to buy and protect natural spaces.

An important byproduct of its efforts is water quality. Land preservation mitigates pollution and makes natural water supplies less susceptible to contamination.

And, believe it or not, job creation. Pleasant places to live and play are more attractive to businesses.

You likely have enjoyed some of the fruits of its labors, especially as the flowers bloom and the tree branches thicken with sleeves of green:

l It played a role in protecting Guilford Courthouse National Military Park from encroaching development.

l It facilitated the creation of Price Park and Piedmont Regional Greenway.

l It helped to plan and create the Haw River and Mayo River state parks.

With the increased challenges and pressures of population  growth and development, its work will be especially critical over the next 20 years. Over that time, the state is expected to lose upwards of around 2 million acres while the population will grow by 3.5 million.

The conservancy’s leadership sees among its priorities helping to keep alive the area’s working farms, preserving more park and recreational land and developing a broader and more interconnected greenway network.

It’s hard to argue with the methods or the result. You can help by supporting its efforts, if you’re so moved. And by encouraging state and local leaders to appreciate the pivotal role it can play in healthy growth, both natural and economic.