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Centre County, 8 More Groups, Municipalities Join Renew Growing Greener Coalition
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The Renew Growing Greener Coalition Tuesday applauded Centre County for passing a resolution calling for the renewal of Growing Greener, the state's primary source of funding to help local communities protect water quality, preserve open space and farmland, and enhance parks, trails and other recreational opportunities.
In addition, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Save Our Streams PA, Donegal Trout Unlimited in Lancaster County and Lackawanna Valley Trout Unlimited have signed the Coalition’s Statement of Support, which calls for the establishment of a dedicated and sustainable source of revenue to support the renewal of Growing Greener.
The Tioga County Greenway Committee also adopted a resolution in support of Growing Greener. Together, these groups join nearly 250 other organizations and groups that have announced their support for renewing Growing Greener.
The following municipalities also adopted resolutions this week: Millersburg Borough, Dauphin County; New Hope Borough, Bucks County; Upper Pottsgrove, Montgomery County.
“Centre County cannot afford to let Growing Greener funds run dry,” said Jon Eich, chairman of the Centre County Board of Commissioners. “County residents have benefited from Growing Greener investments in our parks, our streams and waterways, and our farmland and open spaces. We need to continue these investments so we can preserve our heritage, our quality of life and our economy.” "Centre County joins an increasing number of organizations across Pennsylvania that have called upon the Governor and legislature to restore funding for Growing Greener," said Andrew Heath, executive director of the Renew Growing Greener Coalition. "We are hopeful that our state legislators will listen to their local communities and restore funding for this award winning program so that future generations have access to clean drinking water, fresh air, locally produced food and green open spaces."
Growing Greener is a bipartisan program established in 1999 under Gov. Tom Ridge and later expanded by Governors Schweiker and Rendell. Since its establishment, Growing Greener has created a legacy of success, preserving more than 33,700 acres of Pennsylvania's family farmland, conserving more than 42,300 acres of threatened open space, adding 26,000 acres to state parks and forests, and restoring over 16,000 acres of abandoned mine lands.
Moreover, Growing Greener has contributed and leveraged billions of dollars to the Pennsylvania economy by helping to boost tourism, create jobs and generate revenue.
Yet despite the program's accomplishments, funding for Growing Greener projects and grants fell from an average of approximately $150 million per year for the last six years to $27.3 million in the current state budget. This is more than an 80 percent reduction
To date, more than 230 organizations and groups have announced their support for renewing Growing Greener. In addition, 102 Pennsylvania municipalities including 24 counties, representing more than 5 million Pennsylvanians, have passed resolutions urging the Governor and Legislature to renew Growing Greener funding.
The Renew Growing Greener Coalition is the Commonwealth's largest coalition of conservation, recreation and environmental organizations representing over 300 organizations and government entities.
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10/24/2011 |
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