farmland

Call now to save conservation

Posted on July 8, 2017 Leave a Comment

We need you to act ASAP. The Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, Growing Greener, and farmland preservation and in danger. The General Assembly is considering stripping their funding to balance the state budget. This is a gravely serious threat that would harm Pennsylvania not just this year but for years to come.

What we all need to do:

Call (Harrisburg offices) and email your State Representative, Senator, and the Governor NOW and SUNDAY, and urge them to OPPOSE any transfers from the Keystone Fund, Growing Greener or farmland preservation to balance the budget.

Get on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and spread the message that these funds must be protected. Tag your legislators – let them know you are watching what happens. (#SavePA, #PABudget)

Do the same via email.
Personally reach out to those you know who have relationships with legislators and the Governor. Ask them to make calls.

Harrisburg must do more to protect the environmental, not less.

Act Now: Land Trust Farm Preservation

Posted on June 29, 2017 Leave a Comment

PA Representative Cutler of Lancaster County soon will introduce legislation that would direct a portion of PA farm preservation funding to land trusts for purchase of agricultural conservation easements.

Please ask your representative to co-sponsor Rep. Cutler’s bill.

Rep. Cutler’s memorandum asking for co-sponsors is provided below.

Land trusts would be expected to use the state funds to leverage private contributions on a 50-50 basis in order to increase the effectiveness of state investments in farm preservation. The current proposal would dedicate $2,500,000 a year to this initiative as well as $500,000 to land trusts for reimbursement of transaction expenses of up to $10,000 for each qualifying ag easement project (up from the present $5,000 limit). Land trusts would apply directly to the state board for funding but would have to coordinate purchase activities with their county agricultural land preservation board.

The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association supports Rep. Cutler’s effort as does the PA Farmland Preservation Association (which is made up of county agricultural land preservation administrators).

Please take a moment to support farmland preservation and the land trust community. Call or email your representative as soon as possible.

Proposed Federal Budget Cuts Could Harm PA Agriculture, Rural Communities

Posted on April 10, 2017 Leave a Comment

The Trump administration’s proposed 21 percent cut to the U.S. Department of Agriculture could cause significant harm to Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry and rural communities, according to state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding.

The cuts, he said, could affect everything from the safety of community water systems and the prospects for economic growth in rural communities to funding for important agricultural research projects.

“While there is still a great deal of detail that is unknown, what has been reported thus far is alarming,” said Secretary Redding. “The programs targeted for cuts or elimination in the President’s budget proposal may be considered ‘discretionary’ in Washington parlance, but the work those programs support on the ground in communities across Pennsylvania and the country are vitally important. This is not the way to put ‘America first.’ If anything, it puts our rural communities and some of our most vulnerable neighbors at a tremendous disadvantage and represents a threat to their livelihood.”

According to a blueprint document from the federal Office of Management and Budget, USDA is targeted for $4.7 billion in cuts under President Trump’s 2018 funding proposal.

The cuts would impact USDA Rural Development; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children; the National Forest System; and the Agricultural Research Service, among other programs and agencies.

For example, the president’s proposal seeks almost $500 million in cuts from the Water and Wastewater loan and grant program. The program is the federal government’s only dedicated resource for financing water and sewer programs in communities of fewer than 10,000 people.

In 2016, the program supported 16 projects across Pennsylvania totaling nearly $55 million.

“At a time when we’re trying to bring new focus to restoring water quality in Pennsylvania, the cuts to the water and sewer grant and loan program undermines the work we’ve done,” said Redding. “For small and poor communities, this program has been invaluable to rebuilding the water infrastructure that families and businesses depend on. Many of our rural communities could not afford clean water without this program.”

The program is administered by USDA Rural Development. The agency’s Rural Business and Cooperative Service, which supported 73 projects in Pennsylvania last year to the tune of $30 million, would be cut by $95 million under the president’s budget.

Funding for WIC, which helps to provide nutrition and health services to low-income women, expecting mothers, and children, is facing a $200 million cut – roughly equal to what Pennsylvania received through the program in 2016.

Based on USDA figures from 2014, there are more than 275,000 infants and children, alone, in Pennsylvania who are eligible for the program

“USDA has been a vital partner of the commonwealth, but this budget threatens key mission areas of the department, and that could have harmful consequences to us here in Pennsylvania and to our citizens,” said Redding. “We intend to work with our congressional delegation and others to underscore the importance of these investments in our state so that we can continue to grow our agricultural economy and our rural communities.”

Governor Corbett Signs 2014-15 Budget and Fiscal Code

Posted on July 1, 2014

On July 10, Governor Corbett signed the 2014-15 budget (House Bill 2328) and fiscal code (House Bill 278), line item-vetoed specific legislative appropriations and placed legislative spending initiatives into budgetary reserves.

On June 30, the Pennsylvania Senate (26-24) and House (108-95), passed this Republican-written budget. (In subsequent days, the General Assembly also passed the fiscal code, legislation important to implementing the budget.)

The budget leaves the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund untouched. Likewise, farmland preservation and Growing Greener. These conservation investment programs will continue to deliver lasting results in 2014-15.

Thanks to everyone who reached out to their legislators regarding conservation funding! Your outreach made a difference.

Legislators who advocated for conservation funding deserve thanks. Please take a few minutes today to write a THANK YOU LETTER or make a THANK YOU CALL to your legislators who expressed support for conservation funding when you were reaching out to them. They need to hear from you that their support is appreciated. (Note that given the political complexities, a yes or no vote on the budget is not fair gauge of conservation support.)

Other features of the budget include the following:

The budget pattern of funding an increasing share of DCNR operations via the Oil and Gas Lease Fund rather than general tax revenues continued. (The Oil and Gas Lease Fund is where lease payments and royalties from drilling on State Forests are deposited.)
$95 million in revenue from additional leasing of State Forest and State Park for no surface disturbance gas extraction was budgeted. Additional leasing that does not include the right to surface disturbance is consistent with Governor Corbett’s new executive order regarding leasing.
REAP and historic preservation tax credits were left in place.
$500,000 was cut from the line item for the Delaware River Basin Commission.
The Heritage Areas Program line item in DCNR was increased by the General Assembly from the Governor’s originally proposed $2.5 million to $2.75 million. The Governor subsequently line-item vetoed $500,000 of this line item–one veto among many $10s of millions of vetoes made to budget expenditures passed by the General Assembly.

Keystone Fund & Farmland Preservation Programs Will Survive to See 20th Anniversary in 2013

Posted on June 30, 2012 Leave a Comment

The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association applauds the PA General Assembly for supporting key conservation investment programs in the 2012-13 state budget.

The House and Senate have ensured that the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund will continue to create lasting conservation, recreational and economic benefits for Pennsylvania and that cigarette tax revenue will continue to finance the preservation of the Commonwealth’s most productive farmland. Both conservation investment programs will continue, unharmed, into 2013, the 20th anniversary of the dedication of tax revenue to both Keystone (state realty transfer tax) and farmland preservation (cigarette tax).

Citizens across the state spoke out and told legislators how projects supported by these funds are vital to their communities. The Association especially thanks Representative Bill Adolph, House Appropriations Majority Chairman, who listened to citizen concerns and championed continued state investments in preserving productive farmland, conserving open space important to communities and ensuring outdoor recreational opportunities for the public.

“The Keystone Fund is Pennsylvania’s key tool for building lasting legacies in our communities,” said Andrew Loza, PALTA Executive Director. “Twenty years from now, Pennsylvanians will still be enjoying the fruits of Keystone investments when they visit local, county and state parks. Fifty years from now, Pennsylvanians will still be riding the thousands of miles of trails protected and built with Keystone investments. A hundred years from now, Pennsylvanians will still be enjoying the wildlife in natural areas protected with Keystone.”

Two thousand farm families are on county waiting lists to protect their farms. “With the dedication of cigarette tax revenue to farmland preservation, the General Assembly helps ensure the long-term security of Pennsylvania’s food supply and the sustainability of local farming economies,” Loza said.

In 1993, the General Assembly, governor and voters recognized both the need for and value of long-term support for conservation and outdoor recreation in Pennsylvania. They established the Keystone Recreaton, Parks and Conservation Fund, dedicating 15% of State Realty Transfer Tax revenues to creating lasting legacies for Pennsylvania and ensuring that essential investments in Pennsylvania’s future would occur as land is developed and trades hands.

Also in 1993, the General Assembly dedicated a portion of cigarette tax revenue to farmland preservation. $20.485 million a year is now directed to farmland preservation.

“On behalf of the 75 member organizations of the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association and their 120,000 Pennsylvania members and contributors, I thank legislators for their continued support of the Keystone Fund and farmland preservation,” Loza said.

Learn more at conservationadvocate.org, keystonefund.org.