Yes For Our Parks

Introduction by Marsha Gebhardt
President, Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter

This post is written by Mitch Leachman, who is Executive Director of St. Louis Audubon and a member of Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter. St. Louis Audubon’s Bring Conservation Home program is one of the four partners represented in our Circle of Support for homeowners. As many of you know, Mitch is a primary advocate for biodiversity in Creve Coeur Park and in St. Louis County Parks in general. We believe that Proposition 2 supports the mission of Wild Ones because it provides that people, like Wild Ones members and followers, in St. Louis County become the decision makers about the development of our county parks. Then, through our future votes, we can persuade decision-makers to provide the kind of biodiversity in County parks that will necessarily include native plants.

Please say “Yes For Our Parks” and vote YES Nov 6^th on St. Louis County Charter Amendment Proposition 2.

Proposition 2 ensures St. Louis County parks cannot be sold or disposed of without a vote of the people, provides residents a say over major changes in parkland, and does not raise taxes or fees. Laws similar to Proposition 2 are already in place in St. Louis City and local municipalities.

Public parklands are held in trust by the government for the benefit of all its citizens.

Public parklands are critical to a healthy environment and society. From active recreation to education to meditation, they support a wide array of interests and the personal benefits gained from those activities. From heat sinks to storm water management to noise attentuation and biodiversity banks, they are essential as part of a network of green spaces that provide ecosystem services and keep our community livable.

Speaking of biodiversity, birds, bats, frogs and toads all eat insects, at least some of which we consider pests. A vibrant park system can help insure healthy populations of them all, reducing the number of insect pests, some of which carry disease, without the need to chemically fog our neighborhoods.

Pollinators are essential to our food supply. Bees alone pollinate 75% of the fruits, nuts and vegetables in the U.S. Public parkland and green space provide critical habitat for many of the hundreds of varieties of pollinators in our region.

Those same trees and other plants that support insect-eating birds and food-pollinating insects also improve water quality, generate oxygen, absorb air pollutants, cool our communities and even provide natural noise barriers.

Further, those birds, butterflies and other critters in our parklands are of interest simply for what they are. Wildlife watching is the most popular outdoor interest in the country as surveyed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service thru their 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. An estimated 24 million people age 16 and up participate in wildlife watching away from home—nearly 10% of that age group. For St. Louis County, that could mean over 70,000 people seeking places away from home to simply BE with nature.

For all these reasons and many more, I hope you agree that our county parks are a treasure we must protect for future generations!

Please vote YES on St. Louis County Prop 2 on November 6^th and spread the word.

For more ways to help and info about the campaign and the proposition, see www.yesforourparks.org.