No change you can believe in - NJ voters still support open space

RELEASE: Nov. 7, 2008 – Volume XL, No. 45

When it comes to New Jersey voters’ support for open space, this past election proves again the old adage: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

It’s neither an analytical stretch nor partisan to observe that voters across the United States were seeking political change in this election. Despite the mood of the electorate, 60 percent of open space tax measures on ballots throughout New Jersey were approved by voters, allowing some things – like cherished landscapes - to stay exactly the same.

What it boils down to is this: Garden State taxpayers, at a time when there is more anxiety about the economy than at any time in recent memory, voluntarily chose to pay more taxes so that open space and farmland could be preserved all across this state we’re in.

Overall, 14 of 22 local measures to continue or increase funds for open space were approved on Election Day in New Jersey. That calculates out to 64 percent, which is substantially higher than 50 percent success rate in 2007. The measures will generate an estimated $191 million in conservation funding.

Nationally, voters approved more than $7 billion in new public money to protect land for parks and open space. The biggest portion of that amount comes from Minnesota, where voters approved $5.5 billion in funding through the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment. Overall, 71 percent of open space measures across the United States won voter endorsement - 62 out of 87 ballot questions.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national land conservation organization, estimates the dollar amount is the highest ever approved in one election. Historically, almost 1,700 conservation measures have been approved since 1988, generating more than $54 billion in new public funds for conservation.

Among the measures on New Jersey ballots this fall was Hunterdon County’s effort to fund its Open Space Trust Fund indefinitely by continuing the current levy of three cents per $100 of assessed property value. The original open space tax was set to expire next year, but 76 percent of Hunterdon County voters said yes to establishing a continuing stream of revenue for their county’s conservation efforts. The measure is expected to generate $7.6 million every year.

As it often does, New Jersey had more measures on ballots this year to continue or increase funds for open space than any other state. The number of measures and their high rate of voter approval again demonstrate that New Jersey’s citizens understand the importance of protecting and caring for our state’s remaining open spaces, farmland, historic sites and parklands.

The glaring omission from this year’s ballot was any measure to fund the Garden State Preservation Trust Fund. Knowing the election results, perhaps our elected officials will now listen to their constituents and establish a stable, secure source of preservation funding at the state level.

A complete list of conservation vote results is available from the Trust or Public Land’s LandVote 2008 website at www.landvote.org. I hope you’ll contact me at info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF’s website at www.njconservation.org, for more information about conserving New Jersey’s precious land and natural resources.

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