This November, Utah voters will have a chance to support something we all believe in - preserving Utah's natural heritage for our children and grandchildren. By passing Initiative 1, $150 million in conservation bonds will be authorized to help us protect Utah's sources of drinking water, wildlife habitat, working farms and ranches, parks and trails and cultural and historic landmarks - while there's still time. How can we afford to pass Initiative 1? The real question is: How can we afford not to? We all know Utah is unique. Our mountains forests, red rock canyons, desert vistas and rivers, lakes and streams add greatly to our quality of life. They also represent Utah's competitive advantage and help bring tourism and new business to our state. But Utah is growing. By 2020, we will need to make room for another 1 million people. With this growth will come increasing traffic and congestion, threats to our air and water quality, overcrowded recreational areas and the loss of our natural lands. We need to plan wisely for growth and invest now in protecting the natural features that make Utah special. This is what Initiative 1 is all about. At its core, conservation is a conservative notion - and so is Initiative 1. This measure honors private property rights, prohibits condemnation, ensures that all transactions will be completed on a willing-seller basis and guarantees lands will remain on tax rolls. Initiative 1 also emphasizes local control by involving local governments and civic leaders in decision-making. Rural communities, with other priorities than open space, can use funds for recreational facilities, trails and preserving elements of their historic and cultural heritage. Initiative 1 funds will be awarded to projects through a competitive application process administered by the Quality Growth Commission. No new bureaucracy will be created. The commission is a citizen's panel, created by the Legislature in 1999, which has a proven track record of effective conservation grant-making - and all finances will be subject to annual audits and legislative review. Most of all, Initiative 1 is a good investment. For just $14 per year for the average Utah family, $150 million will be raised for conservation. This may sound like a lot, but each year, on the East Coast and in many more urbanized states, billions are spent building water treatment plants to clean up polluted rivers and streams and reclaim potable water. By acting now to protect our watersheds and open space, we can do the same for far less. It also makes sense, during these times of low interest rates, to secure public financing at 3 percent or 4 percent at a time when land prices are escalating at 8 percent to 10 percent. In the long run, Initiative 1 will save taxpayers money. Some say we're doing enough already, but just the opposite is true. Unlike other states - conservation bonds have passed recently in Nevada ($200 million), Colorado ($170 million) and Arizona ($173 million) - Utah is lagging behind when it comes to state funding for conservation. In fact, the LeRay McAllister Fund (Utah's only state source for this purpose) has been cut 74 percent by the Legislature to less than $800,000 today. Our neighboring states recognize how important these investments are to make. It's time we did too. Initiative 1 has strong bi-partisan support from both gubernatorial candidates, numerous conservation groups and business and civic leaders statewide. It is a balanced proposal that puts people first - by allowing landowners and local communities to protect what's special to them, without government control, on an entirely voluntary basis. Finally, Initiative 1 is about the foresight needed to protect the clean water and special places we have an obligation to pass on to our children; the same foresight our forebears showed when they carefully laid out our cities and planned for the Utah we enjoy today.

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Lewis K. Billings is mayor of Provo and former chairman of the Utah Quality Growth Commission.