After elections attention most often centers on the blue-red
divide. But in yesterday’s elections, we saw that, yet again, the common bond
for voters is land conservation.

Voters approved 64 percent of the 25 state and mostly local
ballot measures for land conservation. The big victory came in New Jersey,
where voters, while ousting a Democratic governor, also approved a $400 million statewide measure to
replenish the state’s Green Acres program. Support for the measure came from
both sides of the political divide. The New Jersey governor’s seat may have
gone from red to blue to red over the last decade, but since 1961, the Garden
State has always voted green—12 statewide open-space spending measures and 12
victories.

Also significant, voters in Marietta, Ga., in Cobb County,
approved a
$25 million package that includes $5 million for parks, recreation, and
trails. This comes on the heels of Cobb County voters' overwhelming approval of
two $40 million open space bonds in 2006 and 2008 with 72 percent and 65
percent support respectively. While Marietta voters narrow