SF 516 does not advance
By Anna Gray, INHF Public Policy Director on March 30, 2023 in Blog
UPDATE 3/30: SF 516 failed to advance out of the House State Government Committee on Thursday, and did not stay alive through the second legislative funnel.
INHF is grateful to everybody that advocated for Iowa's public parks, trails and wildlife areas. We will continue to work with legislators and stakeholders to address some of the concerns raised during debate on this bill. We appreciate everybody that cares deeply about Iowa's land, water and wildlife, and look forward to working with them to make Iowa a better place. Thank you.
Earlier post:
Senate File 516 is intended to halt growth and enhancement of Iowa’s precious public parks, trails and wildlife areas. SF 516 creates new burdens for agencies and communities working with willing, private landowners who want to protect land and contribute to Iowa’s open spaces and recreational opportunities. The bill disregards existing state and local strategic and management plans, repeals code provisions that outline the state’s value of open spaces and trails and discourages expansion of parks, trails and wildlife areas.
SF 516 will have a detrimental effect on the ongoing efforts to develop places that are crucial to Iowa's rural revitalization, quality of life, workforce retention, economic development and public health. SF 516 lays the groundwork to further erode the private property rights of willing landowners looking to partner in the expansion of Iowa’s parks and trails.
SF 516 does the following:
- Requires DNR and DOT to create new long-range plans. There are already several state strategic plans that guide and prioritize state-funded projects. On a regular basis, the state is reviewing and identifying the current priorities and focus for our limited state funding. Requiring agencies to re-create this work would be a frivolous, inefficient use of government resources and taxpayer dollars.
- Repeals original legislative intent language for open spaces and state recreational trails. For example: Iowa’s most significant open space lands are essential to the well-being and quality of life for Iowans and to the economic viability of the state’s recreation and tourism industry. Repealing the purpose that has existed for decades lays the foundation for future erosions of these programs beyond what we are seeing in this bill. The intent language is indicative of the values we hold as a state, so to repeal this language would indicate that we do not value our natural resources or open spaces.
- Discourages growth of opens spaces and trails. We agree that caring for existing facilities is important and are proud of the people working hard to care for our parks, trails, and wildlife areas. A statutory requirement that maintenance should supersede acquisition runs the risk of boxing out important quality of life initiatives and projects that are desperately needed and wanted in our rural communities. For example, the efforts in SF 516 are in direct contradiction to the Governor’s priorities with the $100 million set aside for Destination Iowa Funding that specifically identifies the creation of transformative outdoor recreation projects as one component of the quality-of-life enhancements our state needs to attract visitors and new residents to Iowa.
INHF is concerned about implications SF 516 may have on these places that are vital to Iowa's quality of life, workforce retention, economic development and public health.
SF 516 lays the groundwork to further erode the ability to invest in and expand public land and trails. We are concerned about the spirit and intent of the bill and how it could be used as a vehicle to significantly undermine the ongoing efforts to grow our parks, trails and wildlife areas.
Given the past legislative attempts to stop the growth of our parks trails and wildlife areas, there is cause for concern that this bill will become a vehicle for restricting state dollars and making it nearly impossible for communities looking to create new outdoor amenities to access critical funding.
Examples of existing plans:
DNR Plans
- Statewide Conservation Outdoor Recreation Plan
Overview
Full text
- Iowa Wildlife Action Plan
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- Nutrient Reduction Strategy
Overview
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Overview
Full plan
Trail Plans
- DOT Plan for State Recreational Trails:
Overview
Full text
- Local Plans: In addition to the statewide plan, local planning agencies and governments also have strategic plans for trails. Here is a detailed example from Wright county:
Overview
Full text