A good open-space initiative

Take a moment to review your personal finances. Chances are you have spent $7 on junk food this week alone.

Consider the possibilities if you and about 2 million other Utahns devoted a like sum to acquiring open space each year. Talk about a sound investment in Utah's future.

Utahns for Clean Air, Clean Water & Quality Growth wants Utahns to back a $150 million conservation bond to help preserve open space. The political information committee seeks to place an initiative on the November general election ballot, which is a highly commendable pursuit. Utahns are encouraged to take the first step in this process by signing initiative petitions.

Initiatives don't succeed very easily in Utah anymore. The committee must collect 76,180 signatures in 26 of 29 state Senate districts and conduct public meetings to qualify the measure for the November ballot. Work toward both goals is underway.

Open space preservation has been debated publicly for a number of years. Most people agree that preserving Utah's critical lands requires immediate action. Efforts to fund open-space acquisition through legislative efforts have been hobbled by a lack of political leadership and a dearth of funding. In recent years, the state LeRay McAllister Open Space Fund has been siphoned from $3 million to less than $500,000, and often lawmakers threaten to wipe it out entirely.

Meanwhile, voters in Park City and Salt Lake City have endorsed conservation bonds in recent elections with 70 percent voter approval, which tells us voters are willing to devote considerable tax dollars to preserve watersheds, farmlands and other sensitive areas that are being gobbled up by development.

The proposal by Utahns for Clean Air, Clean Water & Quality Growth would increase the Utah sales tax by .0005 percent over the next seven to eight years for open space. Per person, the tax would come to about a penny on each $20 purchase.

Rep. Ralph D. Becker, D-Salt Lake, placed an identical proposal before state lawmakers earlier this year. HJR15 called for a referendum on the 2004 ballot asking voters to authorize the Legislature to approve the issuance of $150 million in revenue bonds for open space acquisition and preservation. The resolution was narrowly endorsed by a legislative committee but never got to the House floor, which was highly unfortunate.

The initiative process places the issue in the hands of the people. We hope Utahns will see the wisdom of preserving these precious lands while there is still time to do so. Considering the success of recent local initiatives in Salt Lake and Summit counties, Utah voters have captured the vision of a long-range plan that sets aside critical lands and waterways for future generations.