Ms. Gelfand, before you throw in your two cents, which would be appreciated, one of the aspects you both mentioned was the lack of government support for using conservation agreements. I've discussed your proposal with a number of other presenters as well, and there seems to be a reluctance.
I actually looked at the statute to see about your proposal. The statute itself does not in any way suggest that the conservation agreements would in any way replace the legislated mechanisms. Are you suggesting that the law be changed so that you can have a binding law that could be enforced by any party, or are you suggesting conservation agreements, which of course would only be a contract model, and then only the parties to the agreement would be able to enforce those terms? I always have concerns about proposals for something outside the statute.