A.5 Western States Public Finance Campaign Planning: Collaboration between TPL and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Western States [digital images]
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Scope and Contents
This series contains legislation, campaign materials, records and documents detailing the history, contents, process and methods used to create, develop, fund, organize and secure voter approval for conservation finance ballot measures in California and Los Angeles County between 1984 and 1996.
These materials are historically significant because 1) they document how billions of dollars in new public funding were created in California and Los Angeles County to support acquisition, improvement and restoration of parks, natural habitat, beaches, trails, recreation facilities and other conservation purposes; and 2) they encompass a strategic model that became the basis for developing successful conservation funding ballot measures throughout the United States. These public funding measures were essential to creating a vast number of the iconic parks, natural lands, beaches, mountains, rivers, trails and recreational resources for which California and Los Angeles are known around the world.
These successful ballot measure campaigns created funding that permanently changed not only the landscape of California, but also landscapes counties and states in the west and throughout the United States. These efforts were successful because the leaders of these conservation ballot measures developed a model strategic approach based on research, polling and coalition-building, applied to both citizens’ initiatives and legislative ballot measures. They created the legislative and finance framework, methodology, partnership and campaign approach that led to numerous other successful environmental funding ballot measures for multiple purposes (transportation, mountain lion protection and others) in California in the decades following passage of Proposition 70 (1988).
These conservation finance ballot measures also provided the model for the State of Washington’s permanent conservation funding program; influenced Portland Metropolitan Area’s first park bond; and provided the model for Esther Feldman to initiate creation of The Trust for Public Land’s Public Finance Conservation Program in 1994, which has since resulted in over $35 billion in new conservation funding throughout the United States.
Dates
- Creation: 1984 - 2000
Creator
- From the Collection: Feldman, Esther (Person)
- From the Collection: Community Conservation Solutions (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
The records described under this sub-series represent digital computer files preserved in the USC Digital Repository. The files are not publicly accessible online. Researchers wishing to request access should email specol@usc.edu.
Biographical / Historical
TPL and TNC are the nation's largest non-profit land trusts. Until 1995, TPL and TNC's offices in the western states had not worked cooperatively. Esther Feldman conceived of a joint meeting between all of the Western State offices of both organizations to lay a foundation for future collaboration on public finance measures for land conservation. She helped bring together TPL's national staff and TNC's national public finance campaign staff, and together, they created an unprecedented effort that convened all of the heads of the Western States' offices of both TPL and TNC for a 2-day visioning and planning effort in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This is significant because this gathering made it possible for these two powerful land trust organizations to learn about each other's high-priority conservation projects and funding needs. This lay the groundwork for successful collaborations between TPL and TNC in numerous public finance campaigns across the Western U.S., which in turn led to the protection of many iconic sites and lands critical to biodiversity in both urban, rural and wilderness areas.
Extent
From the Collection: 6.83 Linear Feet (8 boxes)
From the Collection: 3.75 Gigabytes (38 computer folders and 142 computer files)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Spanish; Castilian
Repository Details
Part of the USC Libraries Special Collections Repository
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles California 90089-0189 United States
specol@usc.edu