Trust fund sounds like DNR land grab fund

Sen. Brian Schoenjahn's legislative update states the Legislature is going to allow us taxpayers the right to vote on the creation and funding of a Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. He neglects to tell us how they intend to stick us with the bill or how much it is going to cost us every year. To me this trust fund sounds deceptively like another Department of Natural Resources land grab fund.

Their effort along with county conservation boards to continually obtain more land remains confusing to me. I have DNR documentation that states they owned 625,000 acres of land in 1988. Their plan was to double that amount by the year 2000 to 1.25 acres with an ultimate goal of control of 3.6 acres in rural Iowa. What is confusing to me is the DNR reported in 2006 that they only had 335,000 acres. How is it possible for them to lose 290,000 acres in 18 years and why would Sen. Schoenjahn think the taxpayers would be willing to give additional funding to support such carelessness? What the DNR needs is not more money but more oversight on what they do with what they have.

Merle Wilson

Jesup