Study: LI open spaces mean billions in economic benefits

FROM tourism dollars to filtering pollutants from air and water, Long Island parks, farmland and open space produce more than $2.74 billion in economic benefits annually, according to a study released Tuesday by a nonprofit land conservation group.

The Rauch Foundation and the Long Island Community Foundation commissioned the report to quantify the economic payoff from protecting the region's woods, streams and meadows. Long Islanders have spent an estimated $1.5 billion since the 1970s to preserve open space, according to the study's authors, the Boston-based Trust for Public Land.

Although local voters have largely supported spending public money on land preservation, some local economists and politicians have questioned that priority amid the economic downturn.

"We do it to protect our drinking water, we do it to preserve nature, and we do it to improve our quality of life," said John McNally of the Rauch Foundation, which supports land preservation. "But we're in a rough economy right now. Are these reasons still enough justification to continue this investment?"

The answer is yes, according to the report. The group found that tourism and agricultural revenue bolsters the economy, while communities benefit from higher property values and recreational opportunities of open space and parkland.

The study compared how much different types of land use cost local governments. It found parks and open space tend to save communities money because they reduce demand for services associated with residential development - schools, police and highway maintenance.

The group also looked at environmental benefits. Trees absorb air pollution, while undeveloped land soaks up pollutants from storm water that would otherwise foul local bays. Drinking water from unprotected areas costs up to 10 times more to supply than water from wells in protected places, according to data from the Suffolk County Water Authority.

Some of those findings, however, may be overstated, such as how much parks and open land contribute to tourism revenue, said Martin Cantor, head of Dowling College's Long Island Economic and Social Policy Institute and author of a 2008 paper that said preserving open space took land off public tax rolls. Still, he called the study "a valuable tool, because now we can have an educated debate on the cost of open space."