5 Year Report to the Community

In 2014, an overwhelming 68% of voters approved Measure Q (put the full name of the measure here), a $24 annual parcel tax placed on the ballot by the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority to…..(insert short purpose statement of what Measure Q funds, like protect and steward the region’s irreplaceable open spaces, wildlife habitats and agricultural lands and connect people to nature through public recreation and environmental education). In its first five years, Measure Q funded a doubling of the number of acres protected as open space in the Authority’s jurisdiction to almost 30,000 acres –including a once-in-a-generation acquisition of almost 1,000 acres long threatened open space in the North Coyote Valley.
 
I’m so proud of what the Authority has been able to accomplish with the public’s strong support. The Measure Q-funded projects and programs in this report highlight the significant investments we together are making in the health of nature and people; investments that are supporting nature in and near our communities for clean air and water, protecting wildlife, their habitats and movement corridors, protecting natural areas and agricultural lands for their many community benefits, providing opportunities for healthy outdoor recreation and enhancing our resilience to a changing climate.
 
Working closely with public agencies, non-profit organizations and foundations, the Authority has effectively leveraged Measure Q funds to attract other public and private monies to protect open space, water resources, wildlife habitat and agricultural lands and expand public access opportunities and multi-use trails (include a # of miles of trail or some other metric). Through the Authority’s Measure Q Urban Open Space Grant Program we’ve brought nature to urban communities across the jurisdiction, investing over $X in “X” projects to green our neighborhoods, seed community gardens, create parks and connect children and families to nature through environmental education programs.
 
With the support of Measure Q, the Authority has efficiently and effectively invested in high priority, high impact conservation, restoration and recreation projects to improve our quality of life. And these expenditures have resulted in an impressive return on investment - for every $1 of Measure Q funds spent, we’ve been able to attract $3 in public and private partnership funds for conservation, restoration and recreation projects.  
 
As former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has said, we’re in the business of forever. Thanks to your support of Measure Q, the Authority’s investments in nature today are essential downpayments on a livable future for many generations to come.
                                                                                                                                                                         
With Gratitude,
 
Andrea Mackenzie