Best Practices:
1. Better site design can also reduce the need to clear and grade 35% to 60% of total site area.
2. Virginia Model Development Principles state: “Clearing and grading of forests and native vegetation at a site should be limited to the minimum amount needed to build lots, allow access, and provide fire protection. A fixed portion of any community open space should be managed as protected green space in a consolidated manner.”
Better Home Values:
3. Property next to green belts can be 5% to 30% more valuable.
Water Treatment
4. Congaree Bottom Swamp in South Carolina provides 5 Million dollars of sediment removal.
5. The Peugeot sound area spent 2.3 Billion on storm water retention facilities because they lost 37% of their tree cover over 20 years. Atlanta, Georgia will have to spend 2 billion on storm water retention for losing 20% tree cover. Wetlands were worth about $10,000 an acre in 1980 dollars for storm water treatment.
6. Riparian forest buffers remove an estimated 21 lbs of nitrogen per acre per year for
$0.30 per pound, compared to $3 to $5 per pound for Washington, D.C. area
wastewater treatment facilities (CBP, 1998).
Reduce Heating and Cooling Bills
7. “Energy savings of 10% can result by adding as little as 10% tree cover to buffers near buildings (CBP, 1998).” Some people and businesses have seen as much as 20%-40% savings.
Reduce Spending to Reduce Taxes
8. A home build without the needed trees left standing “costs that locality $1600 more than is returned in taxes and other revenues said a Prince William County, Virginia report in 1998
9. “The cost to treat the quality and quantity of storm water from a single
impervious acre can range from $30,000 to $50,000 (CWP, 1997).
Control Flood Damage
10. Farmers in Conservation Program Fared Better in Ohio Floods
Notes
1. Pg 5 http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_&_water/documents/swmecon.pdf
2. Pg 6 http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_&_water/documents/swmecon.pdf
3. Pg 20 http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_&_water/documents/swmecon.pdf
4. Pg 21 http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_&_water/documents/swmecon.pdf
5. Pg 20 http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_&_water/documents/swmecon.pdf
6. Pg 23 http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_&_water/documents/swmecon.pdf
7. Pg 22 http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_&_water/documents/swmecon.pdf
8. Pg 24 http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_&_water/documents/swmecon.pdf
9. Pg 25 http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_&_water/documents/swmecon.pdf
10. http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?contentID=7678
