House Resolution 24 - Introduced

PAG LIN





  1  1               HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.      
  1  2                       BY  JACOBY
  1  3 A Resolution to recognize the 50th anniversary of the
  1  4    creation of county conservation boards.
  1  5    WHEREAS, 2005 is a historic year for Iowa's county
  1  6 conservation boards.  Fifty years ago the General
  1  7 Assembly passed Iowa's county conservation law, making
  1  8 it possible for county residents to create by local
  1  9 vote their own resource management agencies; and
  1 10    WHEREAS, today, conservation boards serve all 99
  1 11 counties in Iowa and collectively the county
  1 12 conservation board system accounts for over 160,000
  1 13 acres of county park and conservation areas; and
  1 14    WHEREAS, the county conservation program provides
  1 15 millions of pleasurable outdoor experiences to Iowans
  1 16 and to visitors to this state each year; and
  1 17    WHEREAS, the county conservation law was made
  1 18 purposefully broad to allow local citizens in
  1 19 individual Iowa counties to decide what kinds of
  1 20 conservation and outdoor recreation areas and
  1 21 facilities they want for their county residents; and
  1 22    WHEREAS, the success of Iowa's county conservation
  1 23 board system over the past 50 years can in part be
  1 24 attributed to the provision of the county conservation
  1 25 law requiring board members to be selected and
  1 26 appointed on the basis of their demonstrated interest
  1 27 in conservation matters; and
  1 28    WHEREAS, once appointed, conservation board members
  1 29 are removed one step from the political process and
  1 30 are empowered to make long=range decisions and have
  2  1 complete oversight of the county conservation board
  2  2 program; and
  2  3    WHEREAS, Iowa's county conservation boards depend
  2  4 on funding from the state's resource enhancement and
  2  5 protection (REAP) program to help support essential
  2  6 county programs; and
  2  7    WHEREAS, this funding assists counties, through
  2  8 their conservation boards, to fulfill locally
  2  9 determined vital needs including, but not limited to,
  2 10 outdoor recreation, conservation education, and
  2 11 natural resource acquisition and protection; NOW
  2 12 THEREFORE,
  2 13    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
  2 14 That the House of Representatives congratulates Iowa's
  2 15 county conservation boards on the 50th anniversary of
  2 16 the creation of the system and thanks all the board
  2 17 members, past and present, for their service to the
  2 18 people of Iowa in providing for the conservation of
  2 19 our natural heritage and increasing the recreational
  2 20 opportunities that make Iowa a better place to live.
  2 21 LSB 1444HH 81
  2 22 jr:nh/cf/24