Support conservation and oppose Iowa’s SSB 3134

Iowa Senate Study Bill 3134 is an attack on the private property rights of Iowans and an attack on conservation when we should be doing more to protect our water quality, enhance outdoor recreation opportunities and support farmers by providing pollinator habitat.

If enacted, this bill would violate the rights of Iowans to receive fair market value for their property when selling to the buyer of their choice for conservation uses. This bill also ignores the public value of improving water quality, expanding pollinator habitat and helping with flood mitigation.

If you care about farmland, support conservation groups in their efforts to manage highly erodible land as prairies or forests. These are nurseries for pollinators that help farmers.

If you care about farmland, support conservation groups in their efforts to create more resilient landscapes, purchasing land that is frequently flooded, returning it to the river so that communities downstream are protected.

And if you care about communities, support conservation groups in their effort to provide public places to hunt, fish, bird watch and hike. Supporting healthy recreation supports healthy communities.

The last thing we need is to limit the ability of conservation organizations and private landowners to set aside land for habitat. This bill seems to have been written by misguided people that do not seem to care about farmers or their communities.

Laura Waldo-Semken

Wapello