Ballot Initiative Cashes in from Enviros in October

With the help of the states most politically active environmental groups, Floridas Water and Land Legacy, Inc.raised nearly half a million dollars in October.

The lions share of cash came from Wall Street trader Paul Tudor Jones, who runs the Everglades Foundation. Tudor Jones contributed $250,000. Also piling in dough were Florida's well-known environmental activist groups: Audubon Florida, The Florida Wildlife Federation and Sierra Club.

The Water and Land Legacy group seeks to put an amendment on the 2014 ballot for voters to decide if the budget for state land-buying should be taken away from legislators and instead have automatic budgeting through the Constitution. Currently, the Florida Legislature has authority to budget items according to the amount of funds available each year. The amendment is estimated to divert $10 billion from doc stamps to land acquisition over the next 10 years.

In October, Florida Wildlife Federation gave more than $26,000 from its chapters and staff. Sierra Club affiliates contributed $10,400, and Audubon pitched in $8,200.

The ballot group has raised more than $1.75 million since July 2012, according to the Florida Division of Elections, and is still collecting the signatures it needs to have a say in front of voters.