Give us those wide open spaces.

• Position: Trends and Transitions

Through all the hard times, at least one program remains popular with local voters--land conservation. Voters approved 100 ballot measures during 2003, dedicating some $1.8 billon for state and local parks and open space programs, according to a study recently released by the Trust for Public Land and the Land Trust Alliance.

The 2003 election results demonstrated the continuing appeal of land conservation among voters from all backgrounds and regions. Over the past five years, voters have approved 78 percent of 831 state and local ballot measures, providing $23 billion in new funds for parks and open space.

"Increasingly, the public sees land acquisition as an effective strategy for managing growth, protecting drinking water and improving the quality of life," says Ernest Cook, a senior vice president of the Trust for Public Land and head of its conservation finance program. "Buying land or development rights from willing sellers has much broader appeal than growth limits or new regulations."

Almost every part of the country has participated in the trend, with measures appearing on the ballot in 44 states over the past five years. The most active areas for land conservation funding have been along the East and West coasts. In addition, a growing number of communities in the Mountain West have undertaken land preservation programs in response to...