HELP INCREASE FUNDING FOR OPEN SPACE AND FARMLAND
In the next week or so, legislative leaders and the Governor will be finalizing negotiations on next year's budget and the use of surplus funds. This means we have ONE LAST CHANCE to increase funding for open space and farmland protection from this year's budget surplus. To succeed, we need a LOT of emails, letters, and calls into our state legislators and the Governor's Office in the next few days.
PLEASE USE THE INFORMATION BELOW TO CONTACT YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS AND GOVERNOR
RELL IMMEDIATELY. URGE THEM TO INCLUDE $10 MILLION FROM THE BUDGET SURPLUS FOR
THE DEP'S OPEN SPACE PROGRAMS AND $30 MILLION FOR THE FARMLAND PRESERVATION
PROGRAM.
Bill 656, the Land Preservation Act, called for $60 million from the surplus for open space, farmland, and urban land acquisition and restoration. That bill, and many others proposing expenditures from the surplus or other state funds, were
referred to the Appropriations Committee. Most were killed as separate bills and
their proposed expenditures were either folded into the committee's proposed
budget or - as happened to the proposed surplus funding for open space and
farmland - left out entirely.
Fortunately, this does not necessarily mean that no funds will be included in the
legislature's final budget. It does mean, however, that we are likely to be shut
out unless legislators and the Governor hear from dozens of conservationists
immediately.
PLEASE SPEND 5 MINUTES RIGHT NOW TO HELP ENSURE THAT THE STATE USES A SMALL
FRACTION OF OUR SURPLUS TO INVEST IN OUR NATURAL AND AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES.
YOUR EMAIL, LETTER, OR CALL DOES NOT HAVE TO BE LONG OR DETAILED - SIMPLY URGE
THEM TO SUPPORT THE USE OF SURPLUS FUNDS FOR LAND PRESERVATION.
Thank you for helping protect our wild places and working farmland!
Sandy Breslin
Director of Governmental Affairs
Audubon Connecticut
185 East Flat Hill Road
Southbury, CT 06488
203.264.5098 x307
203.264.6332 fax
sbreslin@audubon.org
ADDRESSES
To find out who your legislators are, and how to contact them: go to
<http://www.cga.ct.gov>;; click on "House"; then click on "Find Your Legislator";
then scroll to your town and click on the House Districts next to it. Do the same
under "Senate" with "Find Your Legislator"; as soon as you click on the district
number, contact info will pop up.
Governor M. Jodi Rell, Executive Office of the Governor, State Capitol, 210
Capitol Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06106. Governor.Rell@po.state.ct.us
<email:Governor.Rell@po.state.ct.us>
WHAT YOU CAN SAY
* Our communities cannot wait to preserve our most important open spaces and
farmland. In many towns, the fate of every single, undeveloped acre will be
determined in the next few years.
*Towns are crying out for more state open space and farmland funding. The last
several open space grant rounds have had many more applications than they could
fund. Many projects have not received any funds; the projects that did get funded
received far less than the 50% grants called for in the statutes. This
discourages many towns and land trusts from applying for grants and putting
forward their matching funds to preserve land.
*Open space helps our poorest cities as well as our rural towns. DEP's Open
Space programs have preserved land in over 125 Connecticut towns in the last
decade, including the majority of our most populated cities and towns.
*Open space is good for the economy. Open space is key to wildlife-associated
recreation (birding, fishing, hunting etc), which contributes a significant
economic boost to our economy. More than 1 million CT residents participate in
wildlife-related recreation, supporting more than $500 million in consumer
spending and almost 8,000 jobs.
*If your town or land trust has a project for which you hope to get a matching
grant, mention it.
PLEASE let us know how we are doing! Send a "BBC" of your email (do NOT "cc") to
Sandy at sbreslin@audubon.org or email saying you have called. You can
also fax or mail a copy of any letters.
Audubon CT is a member of the Land Conservation Coalition of Connecticut.
THANK YOU. YOUR CALLS, LETTERS AND EMAILS MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!
