WASHINGTON — Voters across the country on election day voted to increase their own taxes and spend $440 million to purchase and protect land in their back yards – even though in some cases they were voting for candidates pledging to decrease spending.

“Voters demonstrated very clearly that whether they vote red or blue for candidates, they’ve always been green for conservation,” said Alan Rowsome, an appropriations analyst for The Wilderness Society.

Republican pollster Lori Weigel agreed.