Urge Legislature to Oppose Targeting Parks, Farms, and Open Spaces to Balance Budget

From PennFuture (http://www.pennfuture.org):

In a last ditch effort to balance the state budget, one of the legislators’ top ideas is to raid crucial funds dedicated to protecting your land, water, recreation, and open spaces.

Just weeks after the legislature passed a budget bill that cut environmental protection programs and now the legislators are back again to take what money is left. These are critical, dedicated funds set-up during the last 30 years to ensure we continue making investments to conserve and protect our open spaces, green spaces, and waterways.

Yet, the legislature aims to raid bedrock funds, such as the:

• Environmental Stewardship Fund, which is how Pennsylvania invests in the Growing Greener initiative, which supports everything from greenways, trails, and community parks to water cleanup and wildlife habitat protection. To-date, the Fund has invested over $650 million in projects in every county.
• Keystone Recreation, Park, and Conservation Fund, which is the chief way Pennsylvania conserves and protects public lands and historic sites as well as invests in libraries, public parks, and new lands for recreation. To-date, the Fund has invested over $1 billion in projects in every county.
• Farmland Preservation Fund, which is how state and county governments purchase conservation easements to preserve Pennsylvania farms to slow the selloff of those lands for development. To-date, the Fund has invested over $1 billion in projects.

These are investments that benefit every Pennsylvanian – past, present, and future. Taking from these funds to balance the budget, while leaving more long-term equitable revenue solutions on the table like a severance tax on natural gas drilling, is a betrayal to the general public that overwhelmingly supports these conservation programs.

The legislature needs to hear from you or these investments in our future will vanish. Please call and e-mail your State Representative and Senator at https://pennfuture.salsalabs.org/72117legislaturetargetingenviroforbudget/index.html urging them to OPPOSE raiding conservation and environmental protection funds to balance the budget.