In July 1996, Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Wildlife Law published the first-ever report on the legal tools available to the states to protect their fast disappearing wildlife and habitat. One of the tools that is available is the ballot initiative. Under this process, citizens have the power to propose bills and laws, and to enact or reject them at the polls. Twenty-six states allow some form of initiative action by state citizens.
Some states allow initiative measures in any general, primary or special election.
The initiative was the result of the 1996 election, in which two measures on the issue of forest clearcutting were presented to the voters. One measure, an outright ban on clearcutting gin the 10 million acre North Woods, owned mostly by multinational paper companies, failed. The second measure, a compromise backed by industry with more lenient restrictions, also failed but received the most votes in that election and was put on the 1997 ballot. Environmental groups that campaigned against the Compact will support legislation in the 1998 session to eliminate clearcutting, set science-based standards for silvaculture and institute a mandatory audit program. New York is one of twenty-four states without an initiative process.