Environment, wildlife, parks measures win big across US

Despite struggling economy, voters approve $3.7 billion for parks and open space

They weren’t the marquee attraction, but environmental issues came out among the big winners in last week’s election.

While voters were choosing a new president and members of Congress, they also gave the green light to dozens of ballot measures in California and across the nation that will provide more money to nature and efforts to restore it — from parks and open space programs to wildlife and renewable energy.

The number of people visiting parks around the United States has spiked during the coronavirus pandemic. Cooped-up residents with few other options have streamed in record numbers to hike, bike and camp, often in public parks near their homes, building political support for them in bi-partisan ways, experts say.

This election, voters approved $3.7 billion in new funding for parks and open space measures nationwide, according to a review by the Trust for Public Land,

a nonprofit conservation group based in San Francisco. Since 1988, such measures have won approval 76% of the time on average, according to the group. But last Tuesday, 48 of 49 measures passed, a 98% rate of success.

“In a time of COVID-19, Americans are coming to appreciate parks and natural areas and trails perhaps in ways they haven’t before,” said Will Abberger, director of conservation finance at The Trust for Public Land. “In times of stay-at-home orders and lockdowns, parks are providing a way for people to get outdoors and enhance their physical and mental health. The election results showed voters were willing to vote yes for parks funding, including new taxes, even with the bad economy.”

Here are six highlights: 1) In Silicon Valley, voters reauthorized a $24 annual parcel tax that raises roughly $8 million a year for the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, a government agency based in San Jose. The funding, which does not have an expiration date now, will protect roughly 15,000 acres over the next 10 years for parks, open space and farmland preservation in San Jose, Santa Clara, Campbell, Milpitas, Morgan Hill and unincorporated Santa Clara County.

As of Tuesday, the tax was passing by 82-18% — well above the two-thirds margin needed. In the past year, the open space authority has made headlines with deals to preserve open space in Coyote Valley, a bucolic area south of San Jose where Apple, Cisco and other companies proposed building huge campuses in the 1980s and 1990s, only to encounter significant opposition.

2) To the north, voters in San Francisco approved $239 million for city parks and recreation programs as part of Measure A, a $ 487 million bond measure for homeless services, street repairs and parks. The money will fund playgrounds, sports fields, community gardens and other facilities from Golden Gate Park to a proposed new shoreline park at India Ba

sin in the Bayview-Hunters Point area.

3) In Nevada, a constitutional amendment passed easily, requiring utilities to provide 50% of their electricity from solar, wind and other renewable energy by 2030. Nevada is considered the state with the best potential for solar energy in the nation. But it still imports large amounts of fossil-fuel-generated electricity.

4) Voters in Colorado narrowly approved the nation’s first law requiring a state to reintroduce gray wolves. The Trump administration has proposed removing gray wolves from the endangered species list, which would allow them to be hunted. Wolves were eliminated in Colorado in the 1940s following a bounty program.

Environmental groups and many biologists say the predators are important to keep deer, elk and other species in balance. Proposition 114 will restore wolves to lands west of the Continental Divide by the end of 2023. It was opposed by farming and ranching groups, although it requires the state to compensate landowners if a wolf kills livestock. The measure could be copied by wildlife groups in other Western states.

5) Montana was one of four states where voters legalized marijuana for adult use. The others were Arizona, South Dakota and New Jersey, bringing the total number of states with recreational use to 15. In Montana, part of the tax proceeds on marijuana sales, estimated at $360 million over the next 20 years, is earmarked for land and water conservation programs.

6) In Denver, voters approved a quarter- cent “climate sales tax” with Measure 2A. The new law is expected to generate $800 million over the next 20 years for a wide variety of climate-related programs, including solar projects, bike lanes, building efficiency programs and job training in clean energy. That new law may also be copied by other cities.

Meanwhile, voters approved new taxes and bonds for parks in Portland, Oregon; Rochester, Minnesota; Volusia, Manatee and Collier counties in Florida; Hays County, Texas; and Traverse City, Michigan.