US voters to decide on billions for conservation

Voters across the nation will decide Tuesday whether to set aside billions of dollars for parks and preservation.

It adds up to nearly $16 billion in tax and bond measures, more money than in any previous election for the last quarter century.

And pollsters say preserving natural resources is one of the few issues where voters of all kinds find common ground.

The most money at stake is in Florida, California and New Jersey, highly developed and densely populated states where pockets of nature are disappearing.

Florida voters will decide whether to commit the state to buy nearly two million acres of swampland, beaches and nature corridors.

California’s initiative includes billions for two new dams to irrigate the Central Valley, where much of the nation’s fruit and vegetables are grown.