New Coalition Launches "VirginiaForever" Campaign to Advocate Increased State Funding for Natural Resources

61% of Virginia voters support paying extra to protect land and water, according to poll

Richmond, VA—22 December 2003—For the first time in Virginia, representatives from business, public health and recreation groups; hunters and anglers; The Nature Conservancy and other conservation organizations have banded together in support of increased state funding for natural resource programs. This new broad-based coalition today announced the launch of "VirginiaForever," a campaign to garner increased public support and state funding for conservation.

The coalition today also released the findings of a new poll showing that 61 percent of Virginia voters are willing to pay a little extra each month to protect water quality, fisheries and wildlife, open space and recreational areas across the state.

"Our coalition represents an unprecedented array of interests joining together to support natural resources programs across the Commonwealth," said Michael Lipford, Virginia executive director of The Nature Conservancy. Committee members range from representatives of conservation groups such as the Conservancy and Chesapeake Bay Foundation to industries such as Smithfield Foods and Dominion.

"Protecting natural resources is important for economic development in Virginia," said Kim Tingley, former president of the Homebuilders Association of Virginia. "Businesses considering a move to Virginia want to know about the quality of life in the Old Dominion."

Despite Constitutional requirements to protect natural resources as a core function of state government, Virginia's conservation programs remain among the lowest priorities in the state budget. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Virginia's public funding for natural resources in 2000 ranked 50th in the nation.

"There's only one way the Commonwealth will ever meet its Constitutional mandate to protect our air, land and waters," said Charles McDaniel, former chairman of the state Board of Game and Inland Fisheries. "We all must work together and find a way to increase and sustain the state's investment in saving our precious natural heritage for future generations."

This fiscal year, less than one percent of state spending will be devoted to the protection of natural resources. The Natural Resources Secretariat is the only functional area of state government to have suffered an actual dollar decline in funding since 2000, with cuts of approximately $22 million.

Virginia's stated conservation goals for 2010 include a formal agreement with Pennsylvania and Maryland to conserve land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and reduce pollutants flowing into this national treasure. The state has committed to protect more than a half-million acres of land, yet its primary land-protection vehicle, the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, received no funding the past two fiscal years. Similarly, the Water Quality Improvement Fund, which facilitates the upgrades needed at wastewater treatment plants throughout Virginia, received no revenue last year.

Virginians place much importance on the historical areas, monuments, parks and other recreational areas in the state," said Brian Tringali, a partner at The Tarrance Group, a national survey research firm based in Alexandria. "Virginians are proud of their state's natural areas, and this poll shows that more than 60 percent of voters want the land and its resources protected," Tringali said.

The Tarrance Group conducted telephone surveys with 600 registered likely voters statewide July 27-29, 2003.

The Virginia Environmental Endowment provided the initial funding to launch "VirginiaForever through a grant to the Nature Conservancy Action Fund.