Iowa Watching Johnson County Conservation Vote
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October 22, 2008
Iowa City, IA – In just under two weeks voters across the country will be selecting a new president, but in Johnson County, something else is on the ballot that could have a direct affect on the whole state. It's a bond issue put forth by the County Conservation Board to purchase land to ensure green space for future generations.
Janelle Rettig, a Johnson County property owner and co-chair of Citizens for Our Land, Water and Future, believes the bond issue could be the model that other communities use to expand green space and help alleviate the flood risk along the Cedar and Iowa Rivers.
"Our mission is to start working on Johnson County watersheds and lead by example, so that other counties and cities will hopefully start looking at what they can do to make a difference."
Opponents claim that the bond issue is too costly and has no plan for use of the property purchased, but Rettig counters that this helps repair years of environmental damage that added to the flooding potential.
"I believe two dollars a month is not a very high price to pay to make a difference in Iowa prairies that have been torn up and our wetlands which have been drained and replaced with concrete and asphalt."
Under the proposal, Johnson County will spend $20 million over the next 20 years to acquire land that could be eventually preserved as wetlands, trails, and woodlands.