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Dear Friend, Last week, a bill was introduced in the Iowa Senate that threatens public lands in Iowa. It passed out of subcommittee despite nearly unanimous public comment against the legislation. The bill goes before the Senate Natural Resources & Environment Committee tomorrow afternoon and needs your action now. SSB 3134 is a direct attack on public lands and conservation in Iowa. It should be opposed in its entirety. SSB 3134 handcuffs the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and county conservation boards from acquiring land for parks, trails, preserves, watershed protection, wildlife habitat, and even recreational amenities such as new museums or playgrounds. The bill directly threatens conservation efforts to protect water quality in Iowa. It also makes it harder for private landowners sell their land for public use, punishing Iowans who wish to protect and develop treasured public spaces in their communities for the future. Rural Iowa communities and businesses near state parks and along bike trails are seeing development and dollars. Outdoor recreation and state park visitation rates have skyrocketed over the past two years. Now is the time to invest in more conservation and outdoor recreation, not less. The bill will be debated in the Natural Resources & Environment Committee tomorrow, Wednesday, February 16, at 2 PM. Now is the time to contact members of the committee to encourage them to vote against this bill. You can tune in to watch the committee meeting online, but there will be no public comments. That's why it's important to take action now and contact legislators on the Natural Resources and Environment Committee to ask that they oppose SSB 3134! Sincerely, Your friends at IEC |
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