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Ohioans Will Vote on Popular Clean Ohio Fund

Ohio Senate sends bond issue to Nov. 4 ballot

COLUMBUS, OH — May 29, 2008 — Ohio voters will have a chance in November to reauthorize the popular and effective Clean Ohio Fund, a program that has given cleaner water, healthier cities, outdoor recreation opportunities and wildlife habitat to communities throughout Ohio.

A vote Wednesday by the Ohio Senate affirms an earlier decision by the Ohio House of Representatives to place an issue on the Nov. 4 ballot that, if approved, will provide a total of $400 million for the Clean Ohio Fund – $200 million to preserve wildlife habitat and farmland and provide recreational trails, and another $200 million to clean up polluted industrial sites.

Because Clean Ohio is funded through the sale of general revenue bonds, voter approval of this ballot issue will NOT raise taxes.

“Nearly every county in Ohio has benefitted from the Clean Ohio Fund since it was first passed in 2000,” said Denise Franz King, Director of Government Relations for The Nature Conservancy in Ohio. “Ohioans have watched as abandoned industrial sites have been renewed, new park land has been set aside, farms have been preserved and trails have been built.

“The success of the program explains why 65 percent of Ohio voters favor renewal of this program in November,” King said.

The Clean Ohio fund is a popular and successful bond program that to date has protected over 26,000 acres of wildlife habitat, more than 20,000 acres of farmland, created 216 miles of recreational trails and cleaned up more than 140 abandoned industrial sites (known as brownfields).

“The Nature Conservancy applauds the leadership of Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Senate President Bill Harris and House Speaker Jon Husted, in bringing this popular and effective program before Ohio voters,” King said.

Listen to a recent radio interview about the Clean Ohio Fund:
 

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.