Open Space Referendum Guidance and Results

The Conservation Almanac is a growing repository of information and data about land conservation in America. The data provides a context for assessing the impacts of conservation and the growing number of state and local conservation funding measures. This website provides analysis and maps the results of federal, state, and local funding for land conservation since 1998.

This guide for town government officials provides advice to local governments in designing ballot measures. The Trust for Public Land has condensed their experience into a simple 5-step guide for town officials in New York State. This guide should help you proceed with more confidence and avoid common pitfalls that could compromise the success of conservation finance proposals.

The LandVote® Database provides the most comprehensive history available for state and local conservation finance measures that have been placed on the ballot.

This publication describes seven successful local efforts to establish open space taxes in Northampton County municipalities for the protection of farmland, natural resource areas and open space. It describes what worked, how it worked and lessons learned.

WeConservePA analyzed and applied geographic information to LandVote data to produce this report. It includes numerous maps and charts describing the 157 open space referendums offered to voters at the local municipal level between 1996 and 2023. 24 pages.

Pennsylvanians may vote to establish a tax specifically dedicated to open space protection in their municipality. Voters may also approve borrowing by their county or municipality for conservation projects. (Print version of CT guide)

These short pieces highlight the difference that careful planning can make it achieving success with open space referendums.