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Iowans prioritize public investments connecting natural habitats to clean water, flood reduction and erosion control
State votes for establishment of natural resource fund; Canada needs similar programs
Oak Hammock Marsh, Man., November, 2010 — Canadian governments and people alike could learn from the public stand Iowa voters took recently on behalf of their natural habitats. In a result that had North American conservation advocates beaming, 62 per cent of voters in the agriculture-dominated state voted for a Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund to be created and ultimately funded by a 3/8th of one percent increase in the IA sales tax.
“By a clear and overwhelming majority, Iowans have declared their support for the creation of this new trust fund, which will seek to conserve the state’s natural habitats for the values they provide such as clean water, soil conservation, improved wildlife habitat and the restoration of wetlands to help prevent future floods,” said Joe Satrom, director of public policy for Ducks Unlimited Inc’s Great Plains Region office in Bismarck, North Dakota, about the November 2 polls.
In Iowa, flooding has caused widespread damage and destruction in recent years. State legislators looked at the removal of natural areas and wetlands on their landscape as contributing factors in the severity of the flooding. DUI was one of over 130 organizations that formed Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy coalition to focus on the creation of The Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. When it came time, the people, obviously, did their part.
“This is a conservation story about the people. Iowans had been becoming increasingly impatient with poor water quality and continued flooding year after year,” said Satrom. “But they also were growing frustrated with the lack of public land in the state for wildlife and hunting. They wanted to make a greater investment in their own state. This trust fund is a permanent constitutionally protected mechanism dedicated exclusively to water quality, soil conservation, wetland restoration, other conservation and enhancement programs and parks and trails.
While the 2010 Iowa General Assembly passed definitive language related to the distribution of funds from the new established Trust Fund, financial resources will depend on legislative action raising the state sales tax. When passed the sales tax will bring $150 million dollars annually to the Natural Resources Trust Fund. For those watching the Iowa election from north of the border, the response of the Iowans was especially gratifying. Particularly, from Ducks Unlimited Canada’s perspective of conserving and restoring wetlands.
“We know that our wetlands provide incredible value during times of flooding as they store and hold water that is moving across the landscape,” says Shane Gabor, lead of DUC’s Freshwater Initiative that is leading ecological goods and services research in three study areas across Canada. “We need this kind of leadership and thinking in Canada. With a few provinces heading into provincial elections in 2011, stories such as this need to be brought forward as examples of the visionary, economic and collaborative thought processes and actions necessary to retain and restore our natural areas and serve society with the many values that these habitats can provide. Programs such as the conservation trust fund in Iowa are win-win for everyone.”
For more information, contact:
Duncan Morrison,
d_morrison@ducks.ca
National Marketing and Communications
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Tel: 204-467-3202
