§173A-5 Land conservation fund. (a) A land conservation fund, hereinafter called "fund", is hereby established.
(b) The proceeds from the sale of any general obligation bonds authorized and issued for purposes of this chapter shall be deposited in or credited to the fund.
(c) Any net proceeds or revenue from the operation, management, sale, lease, or other disposition of land or the improvements on the land acquired or constructed by the board under the provisions of this chapter shall also be deposited in or credited to the fund.
(d) The appropriate percentage identified under section 247-7 of all taxes imposed and collected under chapter 247 shall be deposited in or credited to the fund every fiscal year.
(e) Moneys from any other private or public source may be deposited in or credited to the fund; provided that mandates, regulations, or conditions on these funds do not conflict with the use of the fund under this chapter. Moneys received as a deposit or private contribution shall be deposited, used, and accounted for in accordance with the conditions established by the agency or person making the contribution.
(f) The fund shall be administered and managed by the department.
(g) The acquisition of interests or rights in land having value as a resource to the State for the preservation of the following shall constitute a public purpose for which public funds may be expended or advanced:
(h) The fund shall be used for:
(i) Based on applications from state agencies, counties, and nonprofit land conservation organizations, the department, in consultation with the senate president and speaker of the house of representatives, shall recommend to the board specific parcels of land to be acquired, restricted with conservation easements, or preserved in similar fashion. The board shall review the selections and approve or reject the selections according to the availability of moneys in the fund. To be eligible for grants from the fund, state and county agencies and nonprofit land conservation organizations shall submit applications to the department that contain:
(j) For applications approved by the board, the board may acquire land having value as a resource to the State, pursuant to section 173A-4, or the board may award grants from the fund to the qualifying state or county agencies or nonprofit land conservation organizations for the preservation of the real property. Where the recipient of a grant is a county agency or nonprofit land conservation organization, the board shall require additional matching funds of at least twenty-five per cent of the total project costs. Matching funds may be in the form of:
(k) Evidence of the matching funds in subsection (j) shall be made available by the qualifying entities prior to distribution of the fund grant.
(l) The board shall: