selling the land as a future homesite. 



Federal, state, and local laws can change the way 

 people use their lands, but most often these statutes are 

 intended to protect current uses while avoiding 

 property conversions that might prove costly for the 

 community in the future. It is ironic that many of the 

 people who complain the loudest about erosion of 

 private property rights are the ones who mvariably 

 want to retain the option of selling out to the highest 



bidder, for whatever use, and regardless of the cost to 

 others in the community. Converting productive farm 

 and forest lands to non-agricultural uses at a rate that 

 threatens the very fabric which supports productive 

 lands would have seemed suicidal to Thomas 

 Jefferson, whom-I'm guessing if he were here to see 

 it-would have been tempted to say; "We have nothing 

 if we deprive ourselves." 



*%l0 %1^ %Sj0 %ju 

 ^g% #1^ ^f^ #1^ 



42 



Fruit Notes, Volume 66, 2001 



