Conservation: A Vote for Wetlands and Waterfowl

By Joseph Satrom

A new dedicated funding measure passed by Minnesota voters shows what citizens can achieve for conservation

Ducks Unlimited played a key role in what many conservation-minded people in Minnesota refer to as an Election Day miracle. On November 4, more than a month into the worst economic downturn in decades, 56 percent of Minnesota voters chose to constitutionally mandate 3/8 of 1 percent in new sales and use taxes to support habitat conservation, clean water, arts, parks, and trails. This 25-year constitutional amendment will raise about $250 million annually, including more than $80 million for wildlife habitat restoration, protection, and enhancement.

Many DU Members rallied at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul in support of a dedicated conservation funding amendment.

With this vote, Minnesota joined Missouri and Arkansas among the small group of states that have elected to allocate a portion of state tax revenues for wildlife conservation. This “dedicated funding” allows these states to acquire more land for wildlife management and public recreation, deliver long-term habitat conservation plans for waterfowl and other wildlife, and provide better public hunting and fishing opportunities for sportsmen.

The Minnesota constitutional funding proposal has a long history in a state where activism on behalf of natural resources, hunting, fishing, and trapping is a rich tradition. Minnesotans pride themselves on the pristine image of the Land of 10,000 Lakes. But many conservation-minded Minnesotans began to realize residents and visitors were loving the state’s precious natural resources to death. Led by sportsmen and the outdoor press, Minnesotans began to call for their elected officials to make a greater investment in conserving the state’s lakes, wetlands, rivers, streams, and other wildlife habitats.

Former State Senator Bob Lessard and the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance (MOHA) are credited with the idea of a constitutional measure to guarantee funding for habitat conservation. In 2005, Ducks Unlimited, the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, MOHA, and many other partners organized the Ducks, Wetlands, and Clean Water Rally at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. DU Executive Vice President Don Young and other conservation and political leaders challenged the crowd of 5,000 outdoor enthusiasts to organize and speak with one voice in securing dedicated funding for wetlands conservation. Support for dedicated funding received another boost in early 2006 with the release of Minnesota Calling: Conservation Facts, Trends and Challenges by the Minnesota Campaign for Conservation, which quantified the daunting conservation challenges facing the state’s waters, land, and wildlife resources. David Hartwell, a prominent Minnesota businessman and conservationist, played a lead role in producing this highly influential document.

In spring 2006, conservationists held a second “duck rally” in support of dedicated funding at the state capitol, but the Minnesota legislature failed to act. Undaunted, conservationists began working immediately to change political attitudes. Late in the year, new legislative leaders were elected who actively supported a dedicated funding measure, and they helped build more support for the proposal by including the arts, parks, and trails as beneficiaries. 

Ducks Unlimited took two leadership positions early in the 2006-2007 debate that played an important role in passing a dedicated funding measure in the Minnesota legislature. First, DU supported a proposal to allow Minnesotans to vote on an increased dedicated sales tax. Second, while DU neither supported nor opposed the inclusion of the arts, parks, and trails in the initiative, DU supported the expanded funding measure in the general election. These positions were significant in breaking the logjam in the legislature, which cleared the way for ultimate passage of dedicated funding.

In mid-February 2008, both houses passed the constitutional amendment in bipartisan votes. The measure insured that voters would have the opportunity to dedicate 3/8 of 1 percent of new statewide sales taxes to clean water (33 percent of funding), habitat conservation (33 percent), arts (19.75 percent), and parks and trails (14.25 percent).

The final legislation included two important considerations. Legislators and outdoor interests agreed that funding provided by the measure needed to be separate from and over and above existing funding for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and other resources agencies. Second, DU, MOHA, and other outdoor interests prevailed in an effort to authorize a 12-member citizen/legislative council to make recommendations to the legislature on the expenditure of habitat conservation funds. All these efforts will pay huge dividends for wetlands, wildlife, and people in Minnesota and will serve as an inspiration for other states to pass dedicated funding measures of their own.

Joseph Satrom is director of public policy in DU’s Great Plains region.

Side bar:

A Golden Opportunity in Iowa in 2010
DU volunteers and staff are actively involved in an effort to establish a constitutionally protected plan for increased, sustainable natural resources funding in Iowa. In 2006, the Iowa General Assembly created a citizen/legislative sustainable funding advisory committee to conduct research and provide recommendations for improving natural resources funding. Several DU volunteers, including Tammi Kircher and Jon Kruse, have been active members of the sustainable funding committee. 

In mid-February the general assembly completed the second step of a four-step constitutional process, with the second-time passage of a constitutional proposal asking the people of Iowa to vote on the creation of a natural resources and outdoor recreation trust fund. The measure states that this funding shall “be used exclusively for the purposes of acquiring, managing, reserving, improving, restoring, or conserving this State’s lands and waters, including lands and fixtures acquired, held, or used for the purposes related to outdoor recreation, natural habitat, and agriculture.”

Iowa’s natural resources trust fund proposal will be on the state’s election ballot in 2010. And if approved by the people of Iowa, sustainable funding would become a reality when the general assembly and governor approve legislation raising the sales tax 3/8 of 1 percent for the new trust fund.

The new funding, estimated at $150 million per year, would be allocated to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the Resource Enhancement and Protection Program, the Local Conservation Partnership Program, watershed protection, lake restoration, and trails. For more information, go to iowadnr.gov/sustainablefunding/index.html.