Another try in North Dakota for major conservation funding

[Chris Merkord]

From the Birding Community E-bulletin, February 2014:

 

In 2012, we wrote about North Dakota's "Clean Water, Wildlife, and Parks Campaign," designed to dedicate small portion of North Dakota's existing oil and gas extraction taxes to protect the state's wildlife and habitats for the future.

 

We also described it as a mini-LWCF, not unlike the Federal formula to "recycle" offshore oil and gas revenue to conservation needs. The North Dakota effort was derailed in 2012, but presented a creative solution to conservation funding issues:

http://refugeassociation.org/?p=6429#north

 

This year there is a new opportunity to get the proposal on the North Dakota state ballot in November. The Clean Water, Lands & Outdoor Heritage Amendment could take a small portion (five percent) of the extraction revenues collected from oil and gas in North Dakota and invest it in water, land, and wildlife conservation. Many organizations in the state are backing this proposal, including The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, National Audubon, National Wildlife Federation, and Pheasants Forever. With an estimated $60-$70 million a year possibly being made available for these efforts, the potential for birds and bird conservation could be tremendous.

 

To qualify for this November's ballot, at least 28,000 valid signatures are needed on the petition, and 40,000 signatures would be preferred, with a comfortable cushion.

 

For more on this effort, see here:

http://cleanwaterwildlifeparks.org/