Governor hopes to restore funding for wetlands acquisition
The promise of $10 million comes one year after Bredesen virtually stripped the fund as part of his effort to balance the state’s budget. Money for the fund is generated by real estate transfer taxes and administered by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Bredesen’s plan to renew the funding, good for one year, is the first step in his goal to restore the entire stream of money when state finances allow, his aides say. The plan, as part of the governor’s budget proposal, must be approved by the General Assembly.
“It’s clearly a priority of the governor,” said Anna Windrow, Bredesen’s senior adviser for legislation and policy.
Environmental groups, fishing and hunting organizations and farmers applauded Bredesen’s efforts.
“We need a continuous, longtime land-acquisition fund of some kind to save the wild places left in Tennessee,” said Gina Hancock, associate director of state chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
The Tennessee Conservation League, Tennessee Environmental Council and Sierra Club of Tennessee also supported efforts to restore the funding.
The fund, created in 1986 by the Legislature, earmarks money for a range of projects, including buffering state parks from private land, buying equipment for local parks and paying for soil erosion projects.
The fund is scheduled to again receive its full appropriation in 2007. But Rep. Tim Garrett, D-Goodlettsville, and Sen. Jeff Miller, R-Cleveland, have filed legislation that would move that date up to next year.
“I was hoping the governor might see that the need to impound those … funds may not be necessary to extend” through 2007, Garrett said.
The fund, backed by an 8-cent fee per $100 value when real estate is sold, allows the state to unlock federal and private dollars for acquisition projects, which has added to the loss of it being taken, environmentalists said.
“You can take $3 million and leverage $12 million-$15 million,” Hancock said.