Conservation initiatives did well with voters

Voters in 111 communities in 25 states passed ballot measures funding $11 billion for conservation, including $2.4 billion for protecting land for parks and open space, according to the Trust for Public Land.

The conservation group said 111 of 147 local and state measures nationwide were successful — a rate consistent with Election Days over the last six years.

TPL President Will Rogers said Americans had shown that "land conservation is a high priority."

"American voters are remarkably consistent in approving three out of every four funding measures for land conservation, both before 9/11 and after, whether in recession or recovery," Rogers said in a statement.

TPL's survey fond that voter support for land conservation came from Republican and Democratic strongholds alike.

States with the most conservation measures were those offering matching funds to local governments, especially Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey, TPL found. Those  four states accounted for more than half of all conservation measures.