State Bonds May Fund Open Space Preservation

Somewhat overshadowed by the budget and No Child Left Behind, Utah government is considering a bill to provide a steady funding stream to buy open-space lands. Senate President Al Mansell thinks it is not important because so much of the state is still undeveloped. Jake Garn of the Nature Conservancy, however, says that critical lands, especially on the Wasatch Front, are rapidly being lost to urbanization. The recent sale of oil and gas leases on public lands in Utah demonstrates that federal land won't remain printine either. The bill would increase state sales tax by .05 percent, at an estimated cost of $7 per resident annually.