Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 16:18:56 -0500 Dear MaryPIRG supporter,
In the past two years, the state has collected $280 million for the Program Open Space Fund for preserving parks, fields, forests and farmland. At the end of the budget process, however, only $18 million of that money was used for its intended purpose. In addition, the Ehrlich administration has developed a list of "excess properties" that were purchased with land conservation funding to be protected from development permanently. The administration plans to sell some of these lands to generate revenue. Please take a moment to tell the governor you care about protecting natural areas. Then, forward this message to people you know who may want to help with this effort. To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser: http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=789&id4=ES Background Since its inception in 1969, Maryland's land conservation programs have created 4,300 local parks, saved half a million acres of farmland, and saved 250,000 acres of wilderness areas. These programs are funded largely through the real estate transfer tax, a one-half of one percent tax on real estate sales. Tying land conservation to real estate sales ensures that protecting our most valuable natural areas will keep pace with Maryland's growing problem of suburban sprawl. The idea is to protect these lands permanently -- when the state buys them, they will never be developed. Unfortunately, never might not really mean never. Gov. Ehrlich recently proposed to sell 800 acres in Southern Maryland, including sensitive wetlands, to a politically-connected developer named Willard Hackerman. This land, purchased by Program Open Space, was to be sold below market price without a guarantee of preservation. Hackerman planned to develop luxury homes on the property. Since this scandal hit the headlines, Hackerman has retreated from the deal. But in the midst of it, the Ehrlich administration released a list it had prepared of preserved land that could be sold to generate revenue. The list contains 3,000 acres of properties in 16 counties. At the same time, the word on the street is that the governor's proposed budget for next year will again gut the funding for Program Open Space. In the past two years, $260 million has been taken from the program. We are likely to see similar figures proposed next year. If enough public attention is put on this issue, however, we believe we can restore funding and prevent any future shady deals. Please take a moment to tell the governor you care about protecting natural areas. Then, forward this message to people you know who may want to help with this effort. To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser: http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=789&id4=ES Sincerely, Brad Heavner MaryPIRG State Director [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.MaryPIRG.org P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends. ===== *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Give the gift of relaxation to yourself and others: A hammock or a hammock chair. http://www.twinoakstore.com/ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? All your favorites on one personal page � Try My Yahoo! http://my.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Chat mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://charlesvillage.info/mailman/listinfo/chat_charlesvillage.info
