As coals-to-Newcastle as it might sound, the Utah open space initiative deserves approval.

It is precisely because so much of the state is off-limits to urbanization that the thousands of people who are moving or being born here will continue to be crammed into a narrow stretch of land along the Wasatch Mountains. Open space there, and in other pockets of citification, is fast being commandeered by housing developments, strip malls and apartment complexes, sometimes tauntingly named after the trees or animals that were swept away.

Thus the state, working with local governments and nonprofit organizations, needs to act quickly to reserve critical tracts as human refuges from traffic and commerce, small sanctuaries for wildlife and, especially, protection of precious water supplies from pollution and erosion.

The ballot measure - formally the Utah Clean Water, Quality Growth and Open Space Initiative - would allow up to $30 million of the total for some communities that, rather than open land, need community centers, parks, treatment plants or even convention facilities. The idea is to offer something to the residents of smaller communities who otherwise might not benefit from a tax all Utahns will pay.

The feeling that it does not belong in this proposal is understandable, but should not be overstated.

The $30 million is a statewide maximum for such projects. Because grants will have to survive a gauntlet of review, through the local government, the regional council of governments and the governor's planning office before they even get to the final arbiters of the Utah Quality Growth Commission, the actual share devoted to such uses could be much less.

The measure also prohibits using any of the money to take land or development rights from anyone unwilling to sell, and provides that land so purchased will still owe its share of property taxes.

Because the initiative provides its own revenue stream, and amounts to a fraction of Utah's constitutional debt limit, it should pose no threat to our treasured AAA bond rating.

And the fear that open space preservation would threaten farmers is completely misplaced. With the pressures of urban sprawl and global market concentration crushing farmers and ranchers, urban taxpayers willing to pay to keep land unpaved and unpolluted are the only hope for survival many farmers have.

We should approve Initiative 1. While we still can.