Conservation is the goal for six Midwest ballot measures

Voters in the Midwest will see a half-dozen conservation referendums on their ballots, three of them involving bonds.

Such local issues have one advantage amid the polarization that has made the fate of the environment a matter of political conflict, one observer says.

"There are two main reasons why people vote no: they don't want their taxes to go up, and they don't trust the government to do what it says it's going to do with the money," said Will Abberger, vice president and director of conservation finance at the Trust for Public Land, a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) dedicated to protecting outdoor park spaces.

In the nonprofit's own surveys, Abberger said, it often asks respondents if they trust their local parks service to spend public money wisely. And "the answer almost invariably is yes," he said.

"By and large, conservation and park programs are really well-run," he said. "They're dedicated professionals who are doing their best to protect land and provide a place for people to get outdoors."

TPL maintains a database of passage rates for land conservation ballot measures by financing mechanism. Overall, bond measures have a higher passage rate than other types of measures. The passage rate for all measures is around 76%, versus 84% for bond measures specifically, Abberger said.

According to the database, 18 conservation bond measures passed nationwide in 2022, and seven bond measures passed in 2023. Three bond measures have passed so far in 2024.

"Bonds are a really popular financing mechanism for a lot of land development programs," Abberger noted. "Because it provides them with the cash up front, so they can buy the land while it's cheaper before it gets developed."

In Illinois, Lake County Forest Preserves has a $155 million bond referendum. The McHenry County Conservation District is asking voters to approve a property tax levy of 0.027%. And the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is seeking to raise the limiting rate of its tax levy.

In Iowa, Johnson County voters will decide a $30 million conservation bond request, and Story County voters will vote on a $25 million water and land legacy bond.

In Minnesota, state Amendment 1 would reauthorize the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, which is funded by lottery proceeds, and create a new community grants program.

In 2016, voters approved conservation and outdoor education measures on local and statewide ballots totaling $6 billion, Outside magazine reported. The measures spanned red and blue areas of the country.

The Lake County Forest Preserves board of commissioners approved the referendum by a 15-0 vote in its June 12 meeting, at which Executive Director Alex Ty Kovach said that $65 million of the bond proceeds would be used for land acquisition and $89.748 million would be used for capital projects and restoration.

The county of 714,000 sits on the Lake Michigan shore north of Cook County and south of the Wisconsin border.

If the bond measure passes, the estimated annual increase on a Lake County home valued at $300,000 is just under $33 per year, according to the Lake County Forest Preserves' referendum website.

The Lake County Forest Preserve District was most recently in the market in April with a $17.675 million competitive sale of general obligation limited tax park bonds. Moody's Ratings rated them Aaa.

The district has roughly $154 million in general obligation debt outstanding after that sale. The GOLT bonds are backed by a pledge of all available funds and the district's authority to levy ad valorem property taxes, unlimited as to rate but limited by the amount of the debt service extension base.

According to the district's 2023 annual report, over the last 20 years, Lake County voters have approved referendums worth $273 million for land acquisition and $82 million for habitat restoration, trails and public access improvements.

The district's voters authorized $185 million of bonds in 2008, all of which have been issued, said Rebekah Snyder, director of community engagement and partnerships for the forest preserve district. The limited debt this spring ? which could only be used for land purchases, not capital projects ? did not require voter signoff. The board approved that under its own authority in May, she said.

For land preservation, "we never comment on specific parcels that we may be interested in acquiring," she said. "We do have some goals for that money, and we have made the assumption that we might get about 1,600 acres. So that's the $65 million."

The remaining $90 million will be divided among "a very specific list of unfunded projects," Snyder said. "From a master list, we selected the ones that we felt represented a good distribution across the county."

Illinois law gives the district five years to issue the debt if the bond measure is approved by voters, so the $155 million will be divided into several series of bonds over that five-year period, she said. The district will then have five years to spend the proceeds.

The district was not able to tackle all its unfunded projects within a 10-year window given current staffing levels. Among the projects that made the cut are a series of trail projects that will complete a regional trail in the works since 2000, and a preserve on the Fox River which will open up the first opportunity for the public to access that river in Lake County.

In Iowa's Johnson County, the $30 million bond measure requires a 60% supermajority to pass. The bond would require an average tax hike of $7.09 per $100,000 of assessed property value, according to the pro-bond measure campaign.

According to a May 15 presentation to the Johnson County board of supervisors, the county's last conservation bond measure, in 2008, leveraged roughly $20 million of bond proceeds and $17.18 million of grants, donations and local revenues to acquire 1,176.7 acres and build 9.2 miles of hard-surface trails. The county of 150,000 has its seat in Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa.

"At the time, Johnson County had experienced one of the worst floods in history," Johnson County Conservation Program Manager Brad Freidhof told The Bond Buyer. "[We] had some of the fastest growing communities in the state of Iowa, and it was important to protect green space and corridors along rivers and streams, to provide space to store flood waters without the negative impacts on communities and agricultural land, and to create recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. The 2024 conservation bond is a continuation of those goals."

The 2008 conservation bond funds have either been spent or are earmarked for projects in the next two fiscal years, such as the extension of the Clear Creek Trail to F.W. Kent Park from Tiffin, Iowa, which uses bond proceeds to match more than $3 million in federal funds. Looking ahead, there are now opportunities to build wetlands and restore stream corridors, Freidhof said. They need to address flooding, recharge aquifers and provide more recreational opportunities.

"It's always the right time to invest in clean air, clean water and healthy soil," he said. "The taxes are small when you consider the returns the community gets."

The goal is to transition seamlessly from using 2008 bond proceeds to 2024 bond proceeds, with the 2024 bond carrying them through the next 20 years.

The $25 million bond in Story County, Iowa, also requires a 60% yes vote for passage. The county's website says the bond would increase property taxes on the median household in Story County by $32 per year. The average home value in Story County is $258,245, according to Zillow (ZG), an online real estate marketplace.

Bond proceeds would be used to fund preservation efforts, such as flooding mitigation, riverbank stabilization and ensuring long-term water quality and woodland and prairie habitats. They would also be used for recreational projects, such as expanded biking and walking trails, and the construction of an environmental education and nature center at the county's McFarland Park.

The county of 98,000, which includes Ames, home of Iowa State University, has never issued general obligation bonds for conservation projects prior to this, said Jim Pease, chair of the Story County Conservation Board.

"As we have looked at our strategic plan, master plans and capital improvement plan, it has become clear that we must have a sustainable source of funding to achieve our goals over the next eight to 10 years," Pease said. "The money from this bond will enable us to leverage more to accomplish our project goals over the next ten years."

Roughly 36% of the bond proceeds would fund county parks, 32% would fund water and habitat projects and 32% trails and outdoor recreation, the county says.

"We have a good track record of using county taxpayer funds to leverage other monies through grants and donations to accomplish projects," Pease said, noting that the Story County Conservation Board completed $21 million in projects using only $8 million in county funds over the last eight years.

They intend to do the same with this bond, leveraging proceeds to secure outside funding including grants and private donations, said Story County Conservation Director Michael Cox.