This fall, Environment Minnesota teamed up with a coalition of 200 organizations to ensure passage of the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment on November 4th - an amendment that will give Minnesotans the resources we need to protect our most important resources before they are lost forever.
Our special places are at risk. Right now, 40% of Minnesota’s tested waterways are too polluted to boat or swim in. And every year, as companies continue to dump chemicals in to our lakes and rivers, more are added to the list. We are losing our open spaces to development at an alarming rate. One million acres of open land are set to be lost over the next 25 years. Meanwhile, state funding for natural resources remains at an all time low.
The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment was on the ballot November 4th, and Minnesotans voted to support it. The amendment provides dedicated funding to protect clean water, parks and trails, and wildlife habitat.
The result will be $90 million in annual tax revenues beginning in 2010. Citizens' councils will be established to direct funding for clean water, parks and trails.
Over the summer, and right up to election day, Environment Minnesota educated tens of thousands of voters about the amendment, urging them to vote Yes. This was an opportunity our state could not afford to miss.
America's rivers, lakes, bays, harbors, estuaries and wetlands are essential to our health, our quality of life and our natural heritage. The Clean Water Act has helped America clean up its waterways for 30 years, but recently has come under fire in both the Bush administration and the courts. Read more.
Environment America helps protect the Great Lakes from developers and polluters. Read more.
