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GRHEINSEr'SE O <br />Conservancy hopes to match a S250.000 <br />state contribution uith monev from* <br />Snohomish Counn*s Conser%*anon <br />Futures, a local 6.25 propern* assess­ <br />ment to buy natural lands. King Counrv* <br />recently used a S7 million annual stream <br />from this local tax to float a S60 million <br />bond. The Evergreen .Agenda works <br />with citizens and local ofTicials lo encour­ <br />age wider use of the coun^* ta.\ option <br />and to build support for a sustained con­ <br />servation fund. <br />The Pine Barrens plan in eastern Long <br />Island* New York, was completed on <br />time. Modeled after New Jersey ’s sue-% <br />cessful Pinelands cfTon. the plan envi­ <br />sions a oj.lOO-acre protected core of sen­ <br />sitive resources and compatible develop­ <br />ment in the surrounding 47.000 acres. <br />Next steps include a counn7state collabo­ <br />ration to acquire some 12.000 acres and a <br />transfer of development rights program to <br />compensate owners oi core properties b\- <br />establishing a sv’stem by which thev* can <br />sell or use development potential in desig­ <br />nated zones. Chief critics are builders — <br />despite provisions for development — <br />and towns slated for denser growth. <br />MITIGATION <br />New Jersc|^’*s Department of <br />Environmental Protection and Energy* <br />(DEPE) has established a S2.5 million <br />fund to protect the environmvntallv <br />sensitive Barnegat Bay watershed. The <br />fund is part of a larger 199‘J water poliu- <br />rion settlement beixveen DEPE and Ciba- <br />Geigj' G>rporation. Tne Trust for Public <br />L^d. which has helped jcqaire key <br />properties valued at S8.75 million for the <br />Fonvthe National \\ lidliie Refuee. is <br />overseeing the awani. Two million dol­ <br />lars will be used to capiulize a land <br />acquisition fund, and S500.000 will create <br />an endowment for small environmental <br />education grants to nonprofits. <br />CAPITAL NOTES <br />The S30,2 billion crime bill finalK* was <br />I <br />I approv ed b\' Congress, The National <br />! Recreation and Park Association esti­ <br />mates that park and recreation officials <br />and communirv'-based groups potentialIv <br />have access to some S3 billion of fundinff <br />which could be used for recreation pro­ <br />grams designed to reduce crime amon£ <br />vouth in high-risk environments. Budget <br />lines to look at include S580 million in <br />block grants and model intensive grants <br />(mainly for large cities). .Much about the <br />availabiiin* of funding is still unclear at <br />this writing. <br />“An American Network of Parks and <br />Open Space." A mid*August "white <br />paper" b\* a specially appointed National <br />Park Service committee recommends <br />"reinventing" federal assistance to the <br />nation s nervvork of parks and open space. <br />The committee, comprised of public and <br />private conserv*anon and park leaders, <br />wants to see a substantial share of federal <br />dollars targeted to state and local pro­ <br />grams and a new national endowment to <br />manage the initiative. To fund its billion- <br />doUars-a-year pi ^ ^sai. it urges reclaim­ <br />ing offshore oil reven «cs promised to con­ <br />servation in 1965 but which have since <br />been used to offset the federal deficit. <br />The committee, chaired by Frances S. <br />Buchhoizcr. Director of Ohio's <br />Department of Natural Resources, will <br />build support for its recommendations in <br />the grassroots and in Congress, where <br />Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Bruce F. <br />\ enio (D-MN) are behind the measure. <br />HLTD is expected to announce winners <br />in its $5,5 billion communi^' empower* <br />ment imtiative by the end of the year. <br />Nine empowerment zones arc slated to <br />share S2.5 billion in tax incentives and <br />SI00 million in cash, and 95 enterprise <br />communities will receive grants of $5 mil­ <br />lion each. Over 500 communities entered <br />the competition. The program has a wel­ <br />come receptivin* to environmental <br />improvements as part of comprehensive, <br />collaborative approaches to bring jobs, <br />education, housing, and hope to .America s <br />troubled urban communities. <br />DIVIDENDS <br />Scottsdale, Ariaona is debating whether <br />to dev'elop or preser>*e the e.xtensive <br />McDowell Mountains and desert <br />acreage on the city s edge. The price tag <br />for preservation is about SI00 million. <br />Newspaper reporter Pete Chasar looked <br />into the cin* budget and found that devel­ <br />opment would be c.xpensiv e. too: $410 <br />million for capital improvements. S19 mil­ <br />lion for education. S95 million for trans- <br />ponanon. and S56 million Tor drainaire <br />and flood control. Says Chasar. "there <br />could be an even greater cost — loss of <br />the cin *s scenic VXcsiem image." <br />With tourism adding SI.35 billion to <br />Scottsdales economy, "its dev*elopment <br />that we can t afford. Preserving the <br />.^lcDowells is a banrain."