State Funding for Land Conservation
The Land Trust Alliance is most engaged in efforts to secure improved state and local tax incentives, but we’re also working in partnership with organizations like the Nature Conservancy and Trust for Public Land to support state and local funding initiatives.
Resources
Conservation Campaign Web Site Promotes Local Ballot Measures
Want to volunteer to help a local conservation issue pass? Want to tell the public about a ballot measure or conservation legislation in your neighborhood? Visit the Conservation Campaign web site to get started today!
State Funding for Land Conservation
The Nature Conservancy has compiled information on sources of state funding for land conservation in all 50 states. To learn about funding sources in your state view it online.
New York State Conservation Partnership Program
Created in 2001, the New York State Conservation Partnership Program is
an innovative public-private partnership which provides competitive
matching grants for qualified land trusts throughout New York State for
building land trust capacity and increasing the pace and quality of
conservation. More information>>
News
Voters Approve $8.5 Billion for Conservation
The results are in for 2008 and local conservation measures get record funding! Get the details in the Trust for Public Land's press release or see state by state information on their LandVote website.
Bill Protecting State Parks and Management Areas is Approved by RI General Assembly
In June 2006, Rhode Island’s General Assembly approved legislation (S 2497 - text of bill) that gives Rhode Island’s state-owned lands a new level of protection. The Rhode Island Land Trust Council's Rupert Friday says that calls and e-mails from land trusts and their supporters made a tremendous difference. See our Lobbying 101 page for more information on how you can make a difference in the political process!
LandVote
2007 - Voters Give A 65% Approval Rate For Conservation Finance Ballot Measures
In 2007, voters across the country approved 64 of 98 conservation finance ballot measures, a 65 percent approval rate. These measures will generate $2 billion in new funding to protect natural areas, lands that protect drinking water supplies, and working farms. They will also create new parks in our growing suburban areas and our urban centers. The approval rate during this off-year election did lag behind the historic 75 percent approval rate, and that dip may stem from economic uncertainty and a real estate slowdown, especially in the Northeastern United States. Read the report>>
2006 - Voter-Approved Funding for Land Conservation Reaches Record Levels
At the November 7th midterm elections, voters in 23 states approved 104 ballot measures, which will provide $6.4 billion in new funding for land conservation. This eclipses the previous record, set in the November 1998 election, of $5.68 billion. Voter-approved funding for the entire year also reached an all-time high of $6.7 billion, compared to $5.86 billion in 1998. Furthermore, the 80 percent approval rate for the November election outpaced the 75 percent approval rate that has been common over the past decade. Read the report>>
2005 - Americans Invest in Parks and Conservation
The November 2005 elections concluded yet another very strong year for conservation finance across the country. Overall, 138 ballot measures were presented to voters and 80 percent were approved – the highest percentage of any year since 2000. Voters approved nearly $1.7 billion in new conservation dollars. Read the report>>
2004 - A Divided Electorate Finds Common Ground When it Comes to Conservation
In 2004, state and local voters approved 75 percent of the 217 conservation measures on ballots nationwide, generating $4 billion in new conservation funding and continuing a rate of success that has been consistent since 1996. Read the report>>
2003 - American Voters Care About Saving the Special Places in their Communities
Our 6th annual examination of ballot measures supporting land conservation reviews election results from 134 communities across the U.S. where voters were asked to support public funding to save farms and ranch lands, buy parkland, preserve watersheds, and support other conservation purposes. In 2003, voters again spoke loudly, approving 100 of these measures and generating $1.8 billion for conservation. Read the report>>
2002 - Voters Approve $2.9 Billion for Land Conservation
Voters in 93 communities in 22 states approved on Nov. 5 ballot measures that committed $2.9 billion to acquire and restore land for parks and open space. The successful measures were among 109 conservation measures considered on state and local ballots across the United States. On Nov. 5 alone, voters approved 85 percent of the referenda on which they voted. Read the report>>
2001 - Voters Commit Nearly $1.7 Billion to Open Space
Voters in 2001 approved 137 of the 196 local and state ballot measures for open space, committing almost $1.7 billion in funding for parks and open space conservation, according to the Land Trust Alliance and the Trust for Public Land . Since 1998, voters have given their support to more than $19 billion in open space funding, passing 529 referenda. Read the report>>
2000 - The Land Trust Alliance Report of Open Space Acquisition Ballot Measures
In a year likely to be remembered for a presidential election that was almost too close to call, voters overwhelmingly agreed on at least one issue: the importance of protecting open space. In state and local elections across the nation in 2000, they committed $7.5 billion of their tax dollars to protect the landscapes around them. Read the report>>
1999 - The Land Trust Alliance Report of Open Space Acquisition Ballot Measures
Voters in communities across the United States in 1999 sounded an overwhelming “yes” to land conservation as they authorized more than $1.8 billion in local taxing authority and bonds for open space preservation. Read the report>>
1998 - The Land Trust Alliance Report of Open Space Acquisition Ballot Measures
Voters overwhelmingly approved ballot measures to protect open space on Nov. 3, 1998, voting in eight of 10 state initiatives and a vast majority of county and municipal open space measures. Land Trust Alliance compiled the results of 148 ballot questions on open space funding, of which 124 (84 percent) were approved by the public. Read the report>>
