Voters Showed Strong Support for Conservation and Park Development

Since it was established by constitutional amendment in 1992, the Alabama Forever Wild Land Trust has purchased more than 227,000 acres of land for public use.

Sure, everyone is happy the interminable presidential campaigns are over, and many applaud the decriminalization of possessing one ounce of marijuana in Washington and Colorado. With all the hoopla surrounding the presidential contest, you may have missed that your fellow citizens in many states strongly supported open space and conservations measures on election day.

According to the Trust for Public Land voters in 21 states overwhelmingly approved 46 of 57 initiatives on local and statewide ballots to garner money for new parks and open spaces in their communities.

Among the top initiatives by dollar figure:

Seventy-five percent of Alabama voters passed a 20-year renewal of the state's Forever Wild land conservation program, which translates to some $300 million.

Seventy-five percent of El Paso, Texas voters agreed to approve a $245 million quality-of-life bond to buy land and improve the city's parks and recreation facilities.

Seventy-two percent of San Francisco voters said yes to $195 million city park bond. Sixty-eight percent of Houston voters approved a $166 million park bond to complete the city's bayou greenways network.

Seventy-two percent of Polk County, Iowa voters (home to Des Moines) passed a $50 million bond to buy land to protect lands, connect greenways and improve water quality.

Salt Lake County, Utah voters squeaked through a $47 million regional parks and trails bond.

The 46 measures, most bond initiatives, represent more than $2 billion. For complete results visit The Trust for Public Land's LandVote.