It's official: the open-space initiative will be on the November ballot.

Monday, the state Elections Office received the final signatures needed from Cache County and certified the initiative petition sponsored by Utahns for Clean Water, Clean Air & Quality Growth as sufficient.

Amanda Smith, the head of the group, said this will be the first time Utahns will have the opportunity to vote on a statewide conservation initiative. Voters will be asked to approve a $150 million bond funded through a .05-cent increase in sales taxes.

"Clean water, good air quality and beautiful natural places are important to all of us and they are critical to our state's future," Smith said. "We have succeeded today because people realize the need to invest now to protect that makes Utah a great place to live."

Both Cache and Utah counties had originally reported that not enough valid signatures were collected during the petition drive. But the petition sponsor appealed to the Utah Supreme Court, and the counties were ordered to recheck the rejected names.

At issue was whether the addresses of the petition signers had to match those on the registered voter lists. When the court ruled a match was not necessary, clerks in the two counties were able to verify enough names to meet the requirements of the state's new initiative law.

To qualify for the ballot, petitioners must collect a number of signatures equal to 10 percent of the votes cast statewide in the most recent gubernatorial election, and the same 10 percent count in 26 of the state's 29 Senate districts.

Utah County turned in the additional signatures needed from its disputed Senate district on Friday, but Cache County mailed their list. State Elections Director Amy Naccarato said the signatures needed from the Cache County district were received Monday morning.

That gives the state more than a week to meet the Sept. 3 deadline for finalizing the November ballot. "We're fine," Naccarato said. "This is plenty of time."

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