News The Nature Conservancy finds itself in an unusual position in Salem. Last year, the group funded the campaign that resulted in the landslide victory of Measure 76, which enshrined in the Oregon Constitution the current practice of setting aside 15 percent of Oregon Lottery proceeds for the reclamation and acquisition of wildlife habitat and parks. But rather than enjoying that victory, The Nature Conservancy ...   More

News In the ongoing flap over whether the Oregon Legislature will refer certain "fixes" to Measure 76, it's worth noting that the group most concerned about referring those questions to voters—the Nature Conservancy—has a strong interest in preserving the status quo.As WW previously reported, there was strong disagreement last summer about Measure 76 before voters approved that state constitutional ...   More

News  Yesterday, WW reported that serious differences of opinion have arisen over Ballot Measure 76, the measure approved last year by state voters to dedicate 15 percent of Oregon Lottery proceeds (more than $80 million annually) permanently to wildlife habitat and parks. The Nature Conservancy, which provided most of the measure's $1.4 million bankroll, is now waffling on a previous agreement to ...   More

News  Last fall, Oregon voters approved Measure 76, which continued a requirement that 15 percent of state lottery proceeds be set aside for parks and wildlife (about $160 million per biennium). Before that statewide vote on continuing the 15-percent set-aside before its expiration, the measure's proponents agreed with legislative leaders that the ballot measure contained flaws. Among the environmental ...   More

News The Nature Conservancy last week poured another $200,000 into the effort to qualify a parks-funding amendment to the Oregon Constitution for the November ballot. That brings to nearly $900,000 the amount the Nature Conservancy has contributed toward a measure that would make permanent an expiring law that sets aside 15 percent of Oregon Lottery proceeds for parks. That total should be more than ...   More

News Oregon House Speaker Dave Hunt spent a lot of energy over the past couple of weeks trying to persuade proponents of a planned November ballot measure for parks and habitat to back off. Hunt and allies such as the Oregon Education Association worry that the measure, which enshrines in the state Constitution a current law that sets aside 15 percent of state Lottery funds for parks and habitat, ...   More

News The Nature Conservancy contributed more than $1 million this week ($1,088,500 to be exact) to Measure 76, the November ballot measure that asks Oregon voters to make permanent the current practice of allocating 15 percent of state lottery proceeds to parks and wildlife habitat. Although the measure faces no organized opposition, voters are historically skeptical of any efforts to amend the Oregon ...   More