Prohibiting State Park Expansion Via Auctions
Update: since this bill failed to pass through a House committee, it has failed the funnel and will not be moving forward this legislative session. Thank you to those who communicated with your legislators and those who came to the capitol to voice your objections during the subcommittee. Also thanks to the legislators who opposed the bill.
A bill is moving through the legislature that would prevent the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from acquiring land in an auction; it would even prevent a non-profit from acquiring the land in an auction and then offering the land to the DNR.
There is no reason to reduce the ability of the DNR to obtain land for parks and recreation, based on how the land was acquired.
Iowa is one of the states with the least amount of public land for parks and recreation areas. This is at a time when people are clamoring for more parks and recreation areas, along with places to hunt. Public lands attract people to Iowa and help retain residents living in the state.
In addition to providing recreation opportunities, public lands provide wildlife habitat, protect water quality, improve air quality, sequester carbon, and provide scenic beauty.
One of the things you may hear is that beginning farmers cannot afford land. However, land prices are being escalated by other farmers who are acquiring land for their own operations. Further land is continually being taken out of production by expansion of cities and industries, rather than reusing existing buildings, infilling in cities, and redeveloping land that has already been built on. The DNR is being used as a scapegoat by people who are unable to purchase farmland at the prices it is currently being sold.
You may also hear that cattlemen want to use the land the DNR holds to feed their cattle. In Iowa, 30 million of acres of land already being farmed. It makes sense to devote some of what little is left to wildlife habitat and recreation areas.
Roughly 3% of Iowa land is public land.
There is no showing that there is a problem that needs to be solved with this legislation. This bill moves us in the wrong direction.
This bill has already been passed by the Senate and has moved to the House of Representatives.
What you can do
- Ask the members of the state government committee to oppose SF2324. Their email addresses are: jane.bloomingdale@legis.iowa.gov , austin.harris@legis.iowa.gov , amy.nielsen@legis.iowa.gov , austin.baeth@legis.iowa.gov , michael.bergan@legis.iowa.gov , jacob.bossman@legis.iowa.gov , taylor.collins@legis.iowa.gov , jeff.cooling@legis.iowa.gov , jon.dunwell@legis.iowa.gov , eric.gjerde@legis.iowa.gov , cindy.golding@legis.iowa.gov , craig.johnson@legis.iowa.gov , bobby.kaufmann@legis.iowa.gov , shannon.lundgren@legis.iowa.gov , heather.matson@legis.iowa.gov , mike.sexton@legis.iowa.gov , brent.siegrist@legis.iowa.gov , megan.srinivas@legis.iowa.gov , sharon.steckman@legis.iowa.gov , john.wills@legis.iowa.gov , derek.wulf@legis.iowa.gov , david.young@legis.iowa.gov , adam.zabner@legis.iowa.gov
- Ask your representative to oppose bill SF2324.
