Posted: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 12:00 am
BOULDER, Utah (AP) - A donation to a land conservation project from the nation's largest nuclear waste handler has some here calling for the money to be returned.
The Nature Conservancy took $200,000 from Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions to help fund $43 million in land and water conservation programs statewide over four years.
Near Boulder that money will contribute to a $1.2 million project on the 320-acre Boulder Creek Canyon Ranch, said Amanda Smith, director of government relations in the Nature Conservancy's Utah office.
Next week, the Boulder Town Council will consider a citizen-drafted resolution that asks the conservancy to reject the funds and commit to working only with companies that have sound environmental stewardship records in the future.
Resident Loch Wade drafted the resolution, which says the donation has created a "crisis of confidence" among residents toward The Nature Conservancy. He said he fears such partnerships will give outsiders too much influence in community decisions.
Representatives from The Nature Conservancy have been invited to participate in the discussion, Boulder Mayor Bill Muse said. He said he hopes the meeting will spark a robust discussion of Boulder's future.
Smith said accepting an EnergySolutions donation doesn't mean the conservancy endorses the company's practices. She said she didn't know if the conservancy had ever returned a donor contribution.
"We are very much in the fundraising business," said Smith. "We're about protecting biodiversity, and we're not in the business of censoring our corporate donors or evaluating their business practices on how green or sustainable they are."
EnergySolutions stands by the partnership and said the creation of its 2-year-old foundation was driven by a desire to participate in environmental good works.