The Johnson County Board of Supervisors has set November 5, 2024, as the date to vote for a referendum that would authorize the County to issue General Obligation Conservation Bonds not to exceed $30 million over 20 years.

Bonds would be issued for the following conservation purposes: to provide for parks and trails; protect water quality in rivers, lakes and streams; protect forests to improve air quality; and protect natural areas and wildlife habitat from development.

Co-Chairs of the Our Land, Our Water, Our Future Committee Pat Heiden and Josh Schamberger, along with Brad Friedhof, Johnson County Conservation Program Manager, will discuss the anticipated benefits of the proposed bond measure. They also will review what has been accomplished through a previous conservation bond initiative approved by a super majority of Johnson County voters in 2008. The 2008 bond program, approved for $20 million, has helped leverage an additional $17 million in grants, donations, and revenues to acquire nearly 1,200 acres of largely nonfarmable land for public use and to build more than 9 miles of hard-surfaced trails.

This event is cosponsored by the League of Women Voters of Johnson County and the Iowa City Public Library, Bur Oak Land Trust, Sierra Club Iowa City Group, 100 Grannies, and TRAIL of Johnson County.