Opinion piece by Elizabeth Horton Plasket Director of Iowa Environmental Council Forwarded by Jane Clark What do the environment and gambling have in common? Nothing. Except that Iowa's environmental protection and conservation programs are being held hostage while the state and the gambling industry try to settle a controversy over deferential tax rates for racetrack casinos versus riverboat casinos. Negotiations appear to be at an impasse and word came down this week from the Governor and legislative leaders that unless there is an agreement by April 1st the state will halt spending on water monitoring, soil conservation, watershed protection, state park maintenance, and other key programs funded through the Environment First Fund. Iowa's natural resources funding will be bankrupt. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will have no money for conservation programs. Many of these programs are targeted for farmers on private lands. There are federal matching dollars at stake as well. No more cost share dollars for soil conservation; no more Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP); no more Resource Enhancement And Protection (REAP) forestry programs or watershed protection projects; no more farm management demonstration projects. We expect so much from our farmers - not only to produce food and fiber, but also to act as the front line stewards for environmental protection and conservation. The state expects so much, and will give farmers nothing with which to get the job done. There will also be no funds for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources from the Environment First Fund. With the Environment First Fund bankrupt, about half the parks in the state will be closed this summer for lack of funding for basic services like toilettes, garbage collection, mowing, and security. There will be no monitoring at Iowa beaches for bacteria. All those people expecting to enjoy Iowa's parks and beaches this summer had better plan trips to other states. Once the Environment First Fund is gone, Iowa will have no way to determine the quality of our water, which every citizen depends on to protect public health. All of the state's water quality monitoring will be gone. Monthly monitoring by the University Hygeinic Laboratory at all eighty-five river sites will cease. There will be no more monitoring in streams to determine nutrient loads for Iowa's surface waters. All sixty sites that check the health of our waterways by monitoring aquatic life will cease. One hundred groundwater wells will no longer be monitored. The state will no longer conduct private drinking water well assessments. In 2000, legislative leaders and the governor touted the Environment First Fund as a demonstration of the state's commitment to environmental protection and conservation. That commitment appears to be short lived. Elizabeth Horton Plasket Executive Director Iowa Environmental Council 711 East Locust Street Des Moines, Iowa 50309 515-244-1194 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]