Anyone who is concerned about the relentless development that's consuming the Connecticut countryside should cheer the decision by the Hartford area transit advocacy group All Aboard! to merge with the new statewide smart growth organization, 1,000 Friends of Connecticut.

The merged organization will give the state something it has lacked - a strong, independent voice for properly managed, sustainable growth. The new group is expected to advocate for policies that direct growth to developed areas and transit corridors, and away from farms, forests and other scenic and environmentally sensitive areas.

The movement that 1,000 Friends represents began 30 years ago with the founding of "1,000 Friends of Oregon," and has since been embraced in Pennsylvania, Florida and New Jersey among other states. The groups have successfully fought to preserve open space, improve mass transit and bring mixed-use development to urban areas.

Connecticut needs a champion on these issues. Development has been outpacing population growth for decades. Between 1997 and 2002, the state lost almost 50,000 acres of farmland, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Connecticut lags other states in fighting sprawl.

All Aboard! officials announced their decision to merge with 1,000 Friends in a newsletter mailed last month. The publication said the group will not abandon the fight for better transit "but it's become clear that land use issues are so intertwined with transportation issues that they must be addressed with one voice on a state ... level."

In its seven years, All Aboard! has served as an advocacy and education group and sponsored the first in-depth study of the inner workings of the state Department of Transportation. 1,000 Friends of Connecticut was created as a nonprofit a year ago, but has yet to begin major fundraising or take a high-profile advocacy role. When the merger of the two groups is completed this fall, that should change. We hope 1,000 Friends becomes, as happened in Pennsylvania, 10,000 Friends.