For the first time in more than a decade, voters will have the chance to voice their opinion about conservation funding.

When voters turn to the last page of their ballot, they will find a question about the proposed Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy amendment to the Iowa Constitution. The amendment aims to create a fund that will support environmental and recreational projects, said Mark Hainey, communications specialist at The Nature Conservancy Iowa Field Office.

According to a fact sheet about the amendment, an average of five tons of soil per acre is lost in Iowa each year due to erosion. Wildlife habitats are also depreciating, and the lives of animals and plants are in danger. Also, Iowa’s conservation spending rates are one of the lowest in the U.S.

Hainey said it is important for voters to support this amendment because it will help reverse those losses and develop wetlands that were once in abundance in the state.

“There is nothing more basic than the need for clean water,” Hainey said. “There is nothing more important to the long-term welfare of our state than productive agri-business.

The funds will also be used to create bike trails to promote outdoor recreation in the state.

Randy Killorn, professor of agronomy, said he is in favor of practices that conserve the environment.

“There’s only so much of it,” Killorn said. “We have to take care of what we’ve got.”

If the amendment receives a majority vote, money will not go into the fund until future legislation increases sales tax rates.

“We are only creating the piggy bank, if you will,” Hainey said.

Once sales taxes are raised, three-eighths of 1 percent of sales tax will go into the fund.