Noah at the Ballot Box: Status and Challenges

Open-space ballot measures have been one of the most important trends in land conservation over the past decade, with voters authorizing $27.3 billion for open-space conservation between 1996 and 2004. This article validates the strength of the trend—measures pass 77 percent of the time, typically with support from 60 percent of voters. However, it also raises two areas of concern: (1) Geographic coverage is narrower than might be expected, confined to a small proportion of largely bicoastal states and counties; and (2) it is likely that only a small share of the funds raised by open-space ballot measures leads to the conservation of wildlife habitat. I recommend several steps for research and action to maximize the potential of ballot measures to help close the gap between the funding needed to complete a national network of conservation lands and what is currently being spent.