A Win For Conservation!

Becuase of YOU 600 acres have been funded for protection.

Clean water, wildlife, and recreation assets protected in Cumberland and Sussex counties.

New Jersey Ballot Measure Could Be A Win For Land and Water
On Election Day, November 3rd, New Jersey voters will have an opportunity to vote on more than just the next Governor. Also on the ballot is Public Question # 1: The Green Acres Clean Water Act. If passed, it will generate $400 million for land and water conservation.

A Long History

New Jersey’s voters have a long history of approving similar conservation funding measures. From 1961 to 1995, voters overwhelmingly approved nine state bond issues, generating more than $1.4 billion for land and water protection. This state level funding has been leveraged with county and local level funds as well as private dollars from groups like The Nature Conservancy and local land trusts to double or even triple the value of these investments to protect lakes, rivers and streams, wildlife refuges, family farms, and parks and trails. As a result of these efforts, New Jersey is nationally recognized as having one of the most effective state conservation funding programs in the country.

But for the past few years, our top tier status has been under threat. The state’s primary land and water acquisition program – the Garden State Preservation Trust – has been almost completely spent out and has been in need of renewal. The downturn in the economy has prevented the Garden State Preservation Trust from being fully funded at the recommended levels. November 3rd’s ballot measure for $400 million is essentially a stop-gap strategy until more funding for the program can be generated in the future.

These conservation funding ballot measures have always enjoyed broad, bipartisan support in the state. And according to a recent independent poll by Fairleigh Dickinson PublicMind, some 56% of likely voters say they will probably vote in favor of this year’s measure. It is an encouraging sign that even during this difficult economic climate, the majority of the public still values New Jersey’s land and water that contribute so much to our quality of life.

Make a Difference

The Nature Conservancy is strongly encouraging people to support Public Question # 1. Some of the funding from this bond measure would likely go to preserve critical areas that The Nature Conservancy has long sought to protect, such as the wild and scenic Manumuskin River in southern New Jersey, or the Kittatinny Ridge mountains in New Jersey’s northern Skylands region. Although we are heartened by the results of recent polls, there is no guarantee that those results will hold through Election Day. Everyone who wants to take action to ensure that we have clean water to drink, local, fresh food to eat and preserved lands for our children and grandchildren to enjoy should remember to go to the polls on Nov 3rd, and Vote YES on Public Question # 1.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © John Thomas (Cape May cove); Photo © John Thomas (egret).