| Farmland loss due to sprawl is a significant problem throughout the dense Northeastern Unites States. While a variety of regulatory and non-regulatory tools and techniques are available to encourage better management of growth and preservation of agricultural resources, since 1980 Massachusetts has relied heavily on the success of the Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) Program. The APR program has permanently protected 803 farms, or 67,089 acres in 13 counties across the Commonwealth, however the APR restriction has historically been used less in rapidly developing areas of the Commonwealth like Middlesex County. As budgets shrink and land values increase, the APR program has the potential to become less efficient in preserving Massachusetts's most vulnerable agricultural lands. To remain effective, the APR program must adapt its methodologies to become more proactive, develop a stronger working relationship with regulatory land use planning, and adopt alternative financing instruments that will allow the APR program to remain financially competitive. |
