Voters Deliver Big Wins for Conservation Funding in 2025

Election Day 2025 delivered some good news for the field of nature conservation. It was a welcome break in an otherwise brutal year marked by deep federal funding cuts.

Voters approved 33 local ballot measures across 10 states that will generate over $2 billion in public funding for conservation and parks over the next 20 years. 

What We Tracked

We tracked 35 local ballot measures across nine states. 

• 25 conservation funding measures — every one we could identify.
• 10 park-district measures that support systems with significant natural areas.

In the end, 33 ballot measures passed. That is a 94% win rate for conservation and parks. 

To calculate total funding, we used Trust for Public Land’s LandVote Database to fill in gaps in publicly available data.

Nation at a glance

• Total conservation dollars approved: $777 million
• Total park dollars approved: $1.32 billion. A portion goes to conservation (natural area stewardship, trail building, outdoor education, etc) 
• Measures passed: 33 wins / 2 losses
• Funds support: Open space acquisition, land stewardship, trail construction, education programs, park operations, park  improvements, education programs.

State-by-State Results

Colorado

Fort Collins – Natural Areas Sales/Use Tax — WIN (72%)
$181,051,760 • Open-space acquisition, habitat restoration, operations, and maintenance. 

Boulder County – Open Space Sales & Use Tax — WIN (73%)
$150,000,000 • Acquisition, stewardship, trails.

Denver – Parks & Recreation Bond — WIN (66%)
(Parks measure – partial conservation funding)
$174,750,000 • Capital improvements for parks and recreation facilities.

Connecticut

All fund open-space acquisition.

South Windsor – Open Space Bond — WIN (74%)
$2,000,000

Cheshire – Open Space Bond — WIN (72%)
$1,500,000

Southington – Open Space Bond — WIN (62%)
$2,000,000

Idaho

Boise – Clean Water & Open Space Levy — WIN (81%)
$11,000,000 • Two-year levy for open-space acquisition, water-quality projects, recreation, restoration, and wildfire mitigation.

New Jersey

All focus on levies (property tax add-ons) for open space trust funds that pay for open space acquisition and stewardship.

Sussex County – Open Space Measure  — WIN (81%)
$3,950,000 • Renews existing levy.

Stillwater – Open Space Measure — WIN (61%)
$122,739 • Establishes new levy and trust fund.

White Township –  Open Space Measure — WIN (54%)
$3,328,309 • Increases existing tax. 

Mount Laurel  – Open Space Measure — WIN (71%)
$46,896,180 • Renews existing levy.

Morristown – Open Space Measure — WIN (72%)
$7,976,807 • Establishes new levy and open space trust fund.

South Orange – Open Space Measure — WIN (70%)
$8,560,000 • Increases existing levy.

Monmouth County – Open Space Measure — WIN (67%)
$253,799,940 • Increases existing levy.

Ridgewood – Open Space Measure — WIN (59%)
$6,060,000 • Increases existing levy.

Manasquan – Open Space Measure— WIN (64%)
$8,338,329 • Increases existing levy.

Alpine – Open Space Measure — WIN (78%)
$993,080 • Renews existing levy.

Demarest – Open Space Measure — WIN (70%)
$2,778,040 • Renews existing levy.

Oradell –  Open Space Measure  — FAILED (39%)
$3,608,535  • Establishes new levy and open space trust fund.

Little Silver – Open Space Measure — WIN (61%)
$2,317,830 • Increases existing levy.

Westhampton – Open Space Measure — WIN (83%)
$4,802,860 • Renews existing levy.

New Mexico

Parks Measure (partially funds nature conservation)

Albuquerque – Bonds for Parks and Recreation) — WIN (55%)
33,800,000 • Bond for city park improvements. Includes $4.9 million for open space acquisitions, $400,000 for urban forestry, and $500,000 for environmental education.

New York

Rochester – Community Preservation Plan & Tax — WIN (59%)
$6,683,660 • The Community Preservation Fund (CPF) is funded by a real estate transfer tax. Supports farmland, water and open space conservation.

Ohio

Parks Measures (partially fund nature conservation)

Medina County Park District Levy — WIN (55%)
$67,000,000 • Park levy renewal.

Lake Metroparks Levy — WIN (67%)
$116,733,610 • Park levy renewal.

Geauga Park District Levy — WIN (50%)
$3,384,359 • Park levy renewal and increase.

Ashland County Park District Levy — WIN (52%)
$1,300,000 • Park levy renewal and increase.

Canton Parks & Recreation Levy — WIN (65%)
$31,900,000 • Five year replacement levy.

Great Parks of Hamilton County Levy — WIN (75%)
$202,652,550 • 10-year renewal levy.

Oregon

Parks Measure (partially funds nature conservation)

Portland Parks & Recreation Levy — WIN (55%)
$456,000,000 • Five year levy.

Pennsylvania

All focused on taxes (income tax add-on) to pay for open space acquisition and stewardship.

Upper Providence Township - Open Space Measure — FAILED (41%)
$20,000,000 • Creates a new tax to pay for open space.

Upper Frederick Township - Open Space Measure  — WIN (73%)
$1,180,000 • Increases existing tax.

South Whitehall Township - Open Space Measure  — WIN (74%)
$20,000,000 • Increases existing tax.

Williams Township - Open Space Measure — WIN (62%)
$8,000,000 • Increases existing tax.

Washington

Parks Measure (partially funds nature conservation)

Spokane City Parks Levy — WIN (55%)
$240,000,000 • 20-year levy.