Rendell Proposes to Gut All Special Environmental Funds in State Budget

Governor Rendell has proposed to gut all special environmental funds in the state budget. Specifically, he has proposed taking a total of $182 million from the state’s special funds, with the bulk -- $132 million -- coming from environmental funding. The Governor is essentially proposing to shut down the:

• Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund
• Growing Greener (Environmental Stewardship Fund)
• Farmland preservation program and more.

Funding for Susquehanna Greenway Parks, Trails and Conservation
Areas Could be Slashed

If this proposal moves forward -- and it will unless conservationists push back hard -- there will be NO state money for community parks, open space protection, farmland preservation, community-centered environmental restoration and other conservation efforts. There will be NO Growing Greener grants, NO Keystone grants, NO allocations for counties for farmland preservation.
 
Tell your state senators and representatives to take a stand against any budget that would cut these critical sources of funding. Instead of raiding environmental funding, the General Assembly should raise additional funds by levying a severance tax on natural gas drilling, with a significant portion dedicated to Growing Greener.

PLEASE ACT IMMEDIATELY:
 
1ST ACTION - Call your state representative and senator and demand that they stop the raid on environmental funding. Tell them that these funding sources are critical to your community’s well being. Tell them that environmental programs have already undergone far more than their fair share of cuts in recent years.
 
2ND ACTION – Follow up with an email and old-fashioned letter.
 
3RD ACTION – Get as many people as you can to do the same. We have to put immediate pressure on legislators and keep the pressure up as the budget enters a critical negotiation stage.
 
Find Your Legislators
 
Only strong outcries from many people can stop this. Pennsylvania needs your voice!

To learn more about the Susquehanna Greenway, visit its website at http://www.susquehannagreenway.org
Susquehanna Greenway Partnership
201 Furnace Road
Lewisburg, PA 17837

Photo: Southwest view from Wyalusing Rocks, Bradford County, Pennsylvania along the U.S. Route 6. The North Branch of the Susquehanna River is in the foreground, By Nicholas_T, Pennsylvania,Wikimedia Commons.