Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of beholding and have found some true Ohio beauties.

For pure majesty, I’m partial to the abandoned metal plating factory near Cincinnati. Equally stunning is the neglected glass plant waste pond in Toledo. Dazzling describes the deserted Columbus landfill.

More eyesore than eye-catching? Not when you look at what these sites envision: an Ohio where office parks and city parks replace discarded tracts of polluted land. This isn’t a glimpse into Ohio’s future, it’s a look at our now. Brownfields are turning green, the color of both nature and money, and we have ourselves to thank.

In 2000, Ohio voters approved selling state bonds to create the Clean Ohio Fund. The money has been wisely spent. In just eight short years, 173 abandoned and contaminated industrial sites have been cleaned up and transformed. The toxic waste and dilapidated buildings are gone, replaced by thriving businesses, homes and open space. These sites are sights to see.

Equally picturesque are the previously green parts of Ohio that are being kept that way. Clean Ohio Fund investments have preserved 26,000 acres of natural areas and 210 miles of recreational trails. Other projects have enhanced the quality of our drinking water and provided improved conditions for fish and wildlife.

Agriculture has been a winner, too. Every office park, housing tract or shopping mall built on a reclaimed brownfield is one not built on productive farmland. Additionally, a portion of the Fund’s money has been used to preserve 20,000 acres of prime farmland. That’s good news for farmers, and for those who like to eat. “Local” is the hottest trend there is in food. Consumers want fresh foods from nearby fields. Since food doesn’t grow well in asphalt, preserving Ohio soil at the expense of parking lots seems to be an intelligent choice.

A lot of the concepts promoted by Clean Ohio make good sense. When jobs, stores and schools are close to where we live, we save a bunch of $4 gas. When development takes place where we already have roads and bridges, we save a lot of tax dollars. It’s not easy balancing economics and environmentalism, but eight years of Clean Ohio initiatives tell us that balance is attainable. Whether your interests are environmental, economic or social, the Clean Ohio Fund has delivered. Now, it’s your turn.

This November, voters will be asked to reauthorize the Clean Ohio Fund. Your “yes” vote on State Issue 2 will continue state, local and private efforts to clean up blight, protect rivers and streams, protect farmland and preserve parks and trails; all while spurring needed economic activity. And, importantly, it does all this through wise investment of our tax dollars.

I hope you’ll read our story about this important issue, and spend some time at cleanohio.org. You’ll learn more compelling reasons why you should vote “yes” on Issue 2.

Rarely are such divergent interests and competing needs served so well by a single piece of public policy. When government works this well, as with the Clean Ohio Fund, it’s genuinely a thing of beauty.

John C. (Jack) Fisher, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation executive vice president