Press Releases

Open Letter to

Members of the General Assembly and Governor Wolf

November 18, 2020

 

93% of Pennsylvanians agree—68% strongly—that “we have a moral obligation to take care of our environment.” Whether the focus is protecting waterways, protecting wildlife and natural areas, the importance of parks and open spaces, or preserving productive farms, overwhelming supermajorities of Pennsylvanians find these environmental matters “very important.” These feelings cross party lines; for example, “protecting PA’s drinking water” is found to be very important by 75% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 92% of Democrats.

Moreover, 9 in 10 voters agree that even with the present tight budget, we should still find the money to invest in protecting Pennsylvania’s land, water and wildlife (87 percent agree), that protecting water quality and land in Pennsylvania is critical to keeping the state’s economy strong (90 percent agree), and that it is more important to have parks, preserves, and other public spaces where we can safely enjoy the outdoors (91 percent agree). Notably, there is substantial intensity behind these attitudes, as broad majorities report strongly agreeing with each sentiment.[i]

The numbers demonstrate that Pennsylvanians care deeply about the environment and want to ensure that state investments in projects that support our parks and public open spaces, protect water and wildlife, and provide other environmental benefits continue—no matter the present crisis.

In addition to being strongly supported by the public, investing in Pennsylvania’s environment makes strong fiscal sense. It is well established that state environmental investments provide tremendous rates of return—whether the measure is job creation and economic activity, costs avoided (such as public health and flooding), net tax revenues, or the wellbeing of people and communities.[ii]

The widely acclaimed Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund and Environmental Stewardship Fund are proven vehicles for making environmental investments and keeping Pennsylvania communities great places to live, work, and play. Good for the environment, good for the economy, it is more important than ever to keep Keystone and ESF investments flowing. With pandemic-driven fundamental shifts underway in the economy and businesses and skilled workers looking more than ever at quality of life in making location decisions, the General Assembly should be considering how it might increase investments through these time-tested funds.

For more information, please reach out to the people and organizations of the Coalition including but not limited to:

Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Shannon Gority, PA Executive Director
[email protected]

Conservation Voters of PA
Joshua McNeil, Executive Director
[email protected]

Ducks Unlimited
Nikki Ghorpade, Government Affairs Representative
[email protected]

Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds
John Dawes, Executive Director
[email protected]

Lancaster Farmland Trust
Jeffrey Swinehart, Chief Operating Officer
[email protected]

Natural Lands
Oliver? P. Bass, President
[email protected]

PennFuture
Jacquelyn Bonomo, President & CEO
[email protected]

Pennsylvania Environmental Council
John Walliser, Senior Vice President
[email protected]

Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation
Marci Mowery, President
[email protected]

Pennsylvania Recreation & Park Society
Tim Herd, CEO
[email protected]

Sierra Club PA Chapter
Jen Quinn, Legislative and Political Director
[email protected]

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Tom Sexton, Northeast Regional Director
[email protected]

The Conservation Fund
Kyle D. Shenk, PA State Director
[email protected]

The Nature Conservancy, PA/DE Chapter
Ronald L. Ramsey, Senior Policy Advisor
[email protected]

The Trust for Public Land
Owen Franklin, PA State Director
[email protected]

Trout Unlimited
Jennifer Orr-Greene, Eastern Policy Director
[email protected]

WeConservePA
Andrew M. Loza, Executive Director
[email protected]

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
Cynthia Carrow, Vice President
[email protected]

 

[i] TargetSmart survey of 1,332 likely PA voters conducted September 20-27, 2020; credibility interval of +/- 3.0%

[ii] See Pennsylvania’s Return on Investment in the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund and other studies in the Economic Benefits section of https://conservationtools.org.

 

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The partner organizations of the Growing Greener Coalition are encouraged that Governor Wolf’s executive budget upholds Pennsylvania’s traditional state investments in projects that protect water, conserve land, and enhance outdoor recreation. With the Governor’s budget:

• The Environmental Stewardship Fund (aka Growing Greener), established in 1999, will continue its tremendously successful support of tangible projects that protect and restore water quality, preserve farmland, and make other environmental improvements.
• The Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, established in 1993 with nearly unanimous General Assembly support and overwhelming voter backing in a public referendum, will continue its extraordinarily effective investments in developing and improving parks and trails; protecting open spaces important to communities; and restoring libraries.

The Governor’s budget also constructively addresses a number of other environmental funding matters: proposing to recapitalize the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund with a $1/ton fee increase on disposing of waste in landfills; a capital program to remediate lead and asbestos threats; and funding badly needed positions at the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

While the Coalition is heartened by the Governor’s budget (particularly as it compares to last year’s), this feeling is tempered by the awareness that there is a tremendous backlog of environmental infrastructure needs requiring the state’s attention and demanding much higher levels of investment:

• 19,000 miles of Pennsylvania rivers and streams are unsafe for drinking, swimming, fishing, and boating.
• State parks and forests require nearly $1 billion in necessary repairs.
• More than 200,000 acres of abandoned mine lands and thousands of brownfield sites pollute our water and threaten human health and safety.
• The list goes on.

The Coalition urges Senators, Representatives, and the Governor to recognize that these real challenges require action—whether that’s via the Governor’s Restore PA proposal or some other vehicle. Pennsylvanians have a constitutional right to safe water and preservation of the natural environment. It is also, plain and simple, the right thing to do.

For background information regarding topics addressed in this communication, the Coalition finds the following resources useful:

• Environmental Stewardship Fund: https://esfund.info/
• Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund: https://keystonefund.org/
• Detailed reporting on environmental line items in the Governor’s executive budget: https://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2020/02/gov-wolfs- budget-proposal-repairs.html

Contact information for Growing Greener Coalition Partners:

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Harry Campbell, PA Executive Director [email protected]

Conservation Voters of PA Katie Blume, Political Director [email protected]

Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds R. John Dawes, Executive Director [email protected]

Lancaster Farmland Trust Jeffrey Swinehart, Chief Operating Officer [email protected]

Natural Lands Oliver P. Bass, President [email protected]

PennFuture (Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future) Jacquelyn Bonomo, President & CEO [email protected]

Pennsylvania Environmental Council John Walliser, Senior Vice President

[email protected]

Pennsylvania Land Trust Association Andrew M. Loza, Executive Director [email protected]

Pennsylvania Park and Forest Foundation Marci Mowery, President [email protected]

Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society Tim Herd, CEO [email protected]

Sierra Club PA Chapter Jen Quinn, Legislative and Political Director [email protected]

The Conservation Fund Kyle D. Shenk, Pennsylvania State Director [email protected]

The Nature Conservancy, PA Chapter Ronald L. Ramsey, Senior Policy Advisor [email protected]

The Trust for Public Land Owen Franklin, Pennsylvania State Director [email protected]

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Derek Eberly, Pennsylvania Field Organizer [email protected]

Trout Unlimited Jennifer Orr-Greene, Mid-Atlantic Policy Director [email protected]

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Cynthia Carrow, Vice President [email protected]