Conservation: We got what he bought; Governorship

Preserving Florida’s natural beauty – and its clean water are just options for the current Governor of Florida and his wildly uninformed legislature.

 A way to protect Florida’s treasures

OUR OPINION: A proposed constitutional amendment would keep environmental dollars where they should be – Tuesday, 08.07.12
By The Miami Herald Editorial
HeraldEd@MiamiHerald.com

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]ough economic times and a penchant in Tallahassee for “easy solutions” to close budget gaps have left the state’s environmental treasures and wildlife programs in the dumps. What these recreation and conservation lands need is a stable, dedicated source of funding.

Enter the Florida Water and Land Legacy Campaign, a coalition that includes the Trust for Public Land, Audubon Florida, the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, 1000 Friends of Florida, Defenders of Wildlife and other groups that want to preserve Florida’s natural beauty — and its clean water — for generations to come.

The campaign will be gathering signatures of registered voters — it will need at minimum 676,811 certified signatures — to put the issue on the ballot in 2014. If voters agree, and there are many reasons they should, the program would raise about $10 billion over 20 years — without any new tax or a tax increase. [read more]