WYPR News in Maryland
(2006-01-17)
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Governor Ehrlich, who has a surplus of more than $1 billion to work with, traveled Monday morning to North Point State Park on a peninsula to make the announcement. With a cold wind blowing white caps on the water, he said the spending on land preservation would "build" on his administration's efforts to "make government a more effective, results-oriented steward of the environment."
In addition to the land preservation programs, the governor said he is including additional money for Chesapeake Bay restoration programs, renewable energy efforts, agriculture preservation and the waterway improvement fund.
The announcement was in marked contrast to Ehrlich's first three years in office, when he took more than $400 million from land preservation funds to plug holes in his budget. Ron Franks, secretary of natural resources, says the governor was hemmed in by deficits before, but now has room to maneuver.
TAPE: (11 SECONDS), TRACK 30, 00:33
IC: "He's finally got a budget for the first, or a surplus for the first time that allows him to take care of the things that were passed before he got here, plus do his own thing. So I think we're very fortunate." 00:44
Created in 1969, Program Open Space was designed to speed-up state park land acquisition. Under the law, a certain percentage of real estate transfer taxes go into a fund dedicated to land preservation. Mike Busch, speaker of the House of Delegates, says this marks the first time since Ehrlich's been in office that he has followed that law.
TAPE: (13 SECONDS), TRACK 121, 00:28
IC: "You know we've taken money from that program for the last three years, put it into the general fund. This is the first time it's been funded for its dedicated purpose; so basically, this is the first year we're complying with the law." 00:41
Environmentalists, who have given Ehrlich mixed reviews, gave this announcement mixed reviews as well.
Kim Coble, Maryland Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said she was happy about the land preservation money. But the Bay Foundation, which last summer formed an alliance with the state's farmers, was hoping for nearly $100 million in agricultural conservation funds. Ehrlich's plan contains only $24 million.
TAPE: (14 SECONDS),TRACK 27, 00:52
IC: "The piece that's missing for us is significant funding for agriculture conservation programs. These programs are critical to give the farmers the tools they need to put in programs on the farm that help reduce agricultural run off." 01:06
The Maryland League of Conservation Voters has consistently given Ehrlich low marks on land preservation issues, and yesterday executive director Susan Brown, remained skeptical.
TAPE: (13 SECONDS), TRACK 117, 00:024
IC: "This is the fourth year of his four year term, so I guess it's better late than never. We certainly want to see exactly the details in there first, the legislature has to act on it and we're going to have to keep up the pressure to make sure that we really do get the full funding." 00:37
Dru Schmidt Perkins, of One Thousand Friends of Maryland, wanted the money previously taken from land preservation funds returned.
TAPE: (9 SECONDS) 15 seconds,TRACK 116,00:40
IC: "We're calling on the General Assembly this year to speed up the repayment of those funds so that we make sure that we have every dollar that we can possibly have to protect the lands that we need in Maryland." 0:49
In the last two weeks, the governor has announced nearly $12 billion in new spending initiatives. He is to unveil his complete budget for the year that begins next July today at the State House.
I'm Joel McCord, reporting in Edgemere, for 88.1, WYPR
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