HCP VI Supplemental - Conservation Easements - 3a
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTS
This 2010 grant was supplemental to the sixth phase (2009) of our Shorelands Protection project. This grant provided acquisition capital needed to complete two urgent projects that otherwise we would not have been able to complete. One project protects important shoreline along Lake Superior, while the other project protects shoreline along the Little Pine River. Collectively, these two easements protect 99 acres of critical habitat and protect more than 7,000 feet of fragile shoreline.
Both easements were purchased at significant bargain prices. One of the projects (Lake Superior) also used some 2009 funding, so project details, including the funding breakdown, also were reported in our 2009 (Phase 6) final report.
Additionally, the Land Trust prepared baseline property reports for each easement, detailing the condition of the property for future monitoring and enforcement. To fund this required perpetual obligation, the Land Trust dedicated funds to its segregated Stewardship and Enforcement Fund for several completed projects. For these projects, we estimated the anticipated annual expenses of each project and the investment needed to generate annual income sufficient to cover these expenses in perpetuity - all in accordance with our internal policies and procedures as approved by LCCMR. We will report to LCCMR annually on the status of the Stewardship and Enforcement Fund and the easements acquired with funds from this grant.
An appraised value is known for only one of the easements. The donated value of this easement is $515,000. Based on the estimate of value for the second easement, we believe the donated value of that easement is approximately $53,000. Therefore, we were able to leverage significant private donation with the State's small investment in these projects.
Cumulatively, across all phases of the HCP program, the Land Trust has protected 7,549 acres of critical habitat and nearly 224,000 feet of shoreline, at a cost to the State of $293 per acre.
The Land Trust's work on this project continues to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of working with conservation easements to protect natural and scenic resources along Minnesota's lakes, rivers, and streams, as the cost to the State was well below the cost to purchase land along our increasingly threatened shorelines. This grant continued to generate interest among landowners, and therefore, ongoing funding will be important to sustained success. Additionally, we believe that funds to purchase easements - even a small incentive - will be necessary in the future as work becomes more targeted, selective, and focused on building complexes of protected land.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATION
The Land Trust disseminated information about the specific land protection projects completed under this grant though our newsletter, email updates, web site, and press releases. The Land Trust also shared information about conservation easements generally and our experience with our partner organizations, other easement holders, local communities, as well as policy makers including members of the LCCMR and LSOHC.
$1,344,000 is added to Laws 2009, chapter 143, section 2, subdivision 4, paragraph (e), from the trust fund for the acceleration of agency programs and cooperative agreements. Of this appropriation, $308,000 is to the commissioner of natural resources for agency programs and $1,036,000 is for agreements as follows: $425,000 with Ducks Unlimited, Inc.; $50,000 with National Wild Turkey Federation; $164,000 with the Nature Conservancy; $102,000 with Minnesota Land Trust; $200,000 with the Trust for Public Land; $45,000 with Friends of Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District; and $50,000 to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe to plan, restore, and acquire fragmented landscape corridors that connect areas of quality habitat to sustain fish, wildlife, and plants. The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service is an authorized cooperating partner in the appropriation. Expenditures are limited to the project corridor areas as defined in the work program. Land acquired with this appropriation must be sufficiently improved to meet at least minimum habitat and facility management standards as determined by the commissioner of natural resources. This appropriation may not be used for the purchase of residential structures, unless expressly approved in the work program. All conservation easements must be perpetual and have a natural resource management plan. Any land acquired in fee title by the commissioner of natural resources with money from this appropriation must be designated as an outdoor recreation unit under Minnesota Statutes, section 86A.07. The commissioner may similarly designate any lands acquired in less than fee title. A list of proposed restorations and fee title and easement acquisitions must be provided as part of the required work program. All funding for conservation easements must include a long-term stewardship plan and funding for monitoring and enforcing the agreement.
Click on "Final Report" under "Project Details".
Click on "Final Report" under "Project Details".