New State Trail development to complete key missing trail segments or to fulfill funding gaps in trail development projects. Potetial development to include multi-use trail, trail parking areas, trail waysides, or trail bridges. New trail development includes all associated engineering, design and construction, and is to incorporate current Best Management Practices.
DNR regional clean water specialists and area hydrologists work with local partners to provide technical assistance on implementation projects and related outreach, resulting in cleaner water through healthier watersheds, shorelands and floodplains. We help partners identify, develop, target, design and/or implement on-the-ground projects that improve water quality, enhance habitat and protect infrastructure. We help design restorations that provide lasting benefits by mimicking features of healthy ecosystems.
This archive will be a central resource for accessible Indigenous knowledge around Indigenous foods systems and will include documentation of local traditional ecological knowledge on wild plants, animals, Native agriculture, seed saving, recipes, language, crafting, medicinals, places, histories, health, sports and games, stories, and more.
The Nature Conservancy and US Fish and Wildlife Service will work together to permanently protect native prairie and associated complexes of wetlands and native habitats in western and central Minnesota by purchasing approximately 620 acres of fee title properties and/or permanent habitat easements. Approximately 333 acres will be native prairie. Work will be focused in areas identified as having significant biodiversity by the Minnesota Biological Survey and/or the US Fish and Wildlife Service and located in priority areas in the Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan.
This project will establish a web-based permitting system to capture essential water appropriation information. The system will include an online permit application process for water use and other permits. The online system will streamline the permitting process for applicants and significantly reduce staff time correcting and managing permit applications and water use reports that are incomplete or have incorrectly calculated permit fees. The use of technology in the application and reporting process will also eliminate staff time needed to enter data and scan and route documents.
The Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program is managed by the Department of Natural Resources to provide competitive matching grants to local, regional, state, and national non-profit organizations, including governments.
The Division of Parks and Trails is engaged in critical work to connect people to the outdoors. As part of the work in this project area, the new touch-screen kiosk project will increase awareness about outdoor recreation opportunities at Minnesota state parks and trails among underrepresented groups by creating and installing accessible, touch-screen kiosks with information in multiple languages, in high-traffic, family-oriented locations. Connection plans deliver Minnesota State Parks and Trails' messages to new audiences.
We will lift up Minnesota American Indian arts, culture, and heritage and increase our audience through five new activities: presenting “Reunion of the Buffalo Herd”; staging a full production of Tatanka for video recording; establishing an annual RedTalks Symposium; creating a live interview series featuring American Indian elders and traditional healers; and creating an American Indian Artists Hub to promote our artists.
The 17 member Park and Trail Legacy Advisory Committee is appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, the Chair of the Metropolitan Council and the Chair of the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission. The mission of the committee is to champion the 25 year "Parks and Trails Legacy Plan" by providing recommendations to enhance promotion, coordination, and accountability throughout implementation of the plan.
To provide grants to local units of government to support parks and trails of regional or statewide significance outside of the seven county metropolitan area. Funding for this grant program is from the Parks and Trails Fund created by the Minnesota Legislature from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment passed by the voters in 2008.
To provide grants to local units of government to support parks and trails of regional or statewide significance outside of the seven county metropolitan area. Funding for this grant program is from the Parks and Trails Fund created by the Minnesota Legislature from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment passed by the voters in 2008. Beginning July 1, 2015 (fiscal year 2016), the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) assumed management of reviewing and awarding these grants.
Provide expanded state trail safety and efforts to protect the integrity of the paved surfaces. This included erecting larger stop and stop ahead signing to be consistent with national standards. Also included additional crack sealing efforts in a more timely manner, increase effort in mowing to increase user safety, reduce woody vegetation close to the trail and reduce the damage to trail surface caused by root suckering. More mowing and timely mowing also reduces the threat of invasives be spread by seeds by mowing prior to that.
This Minnesota Humanities Center Heritage Grant will allow project partners to plan and design a Chinese garden in Phalen Regional Park to commemorate the City of Saint Paul's Sister City Relationship with Changsha, China.
The project will advance the protection, restoration and enhancement goals for prairie and grassland habitat that are articulated in the 2018 update of the MN Prairie Conservation Plan. It builds upon the highly successful model established in Phases 1 - 9 and seeks to protect 300 acres in fee without PILT obligations to be held by The Nature Conservancy, enhance 14,000 acres of permanently protected grasslands, and restore 50 acres of prairie and wetland habitat.
This project contributed to the?goals?of?the MN Prairie Conservation Plan?by protecting 539 acres of?prairie/wetland/savanna habitat; restoring 151 acres prairie/grassland; and enhancing 24,604 acres grassland/savanna.?We will continue to implement subsequent Phases toward meeting the conservation goals described in the MN Prairie Conservation Plan.
This program is to increase prescribed burning on Division of Parks and Trails (PAT) lands in order to meet shortfalls in achieving PAT restoration and management objectives.
Protect and restore 590 acres of significant wildlife habitat through conservation easements and restoration projects on private lands within Important Bird Areas with an emphasis on those located in within priority areas identified in the Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan.
Ragamala Dance Company will develop a new, limited-series podcast entitled Subcontinuity: Voices from the South Asian-American Diaspora. Curated by Aparna and Ashwini Ramaswamy and developed with Public Radio Exchange (PRX), Subcontinuity will explore the significance of South Asian-Americans within the cultural landscape of Minnesota and the U.S. Subcontinuity will feature cross-disciplinary conversations between visionary South Asian-Americans doing vital work that speaks to the current moment.
This program focuses on the rehabilitation or replacement of existing state trail bridges, including structural engineering inspections of all trail bridges . Of the more than 300 existing bridges on State Trails, the majority are wood or masonry former railroad structures of which more than 1/3 exceed 100 years old. Starting in fiscal year 2014, future PAT reporting will not separate bridges from trails outcomes reporting, as they are part of the same system of recreational use.
This project works to reduce energy consumption and model renewable energy methods on state park, state recreation area, state forest and trail facilities. The DNR Parks and Trails Division is working to increase the use of energy conservation and renewable energy technologies.
Renewal of existing State Trail surfaces, parking areas, and trail wayside areas, improving accessibility, enhancing user safety and implementing current best management practices. MNDNR Parks and Trails Division has a identified approximately 85 miles of existing state trail in need of rehabilitation and upgrading. This program also focuses on the rehabilitation or replacement of existing state trail bridges, including structural engineering inspections of all trail bridges .
Minnesota Trout Unlimited, the Minnesota Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, and Trust for Public Land will combine their expertise in six targeted watersheds to increase the resilience of remnant populations of brook trout unique to Southeast Minnesota. We will protect and enhance habitat in floodplains, along gullies, above steep slopes, and on bluffs to slow runoff, increase infiltration, and keep aquatic habitat productive.
State law (M.L. 2011, First Special Session, Ch. 6) directs restoration evaluations to be conducted on habitat restoration projects completed with funds from the Parks and Trails Fund (M.S. 85.53). The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is responsible for convening a Restoration Evaluation Panel containing at least five technical experts who will evaluate a sample of up to 10 habitat restoration projects annually. The Panel will evaluate the restorations relative to the law, current science, stated goals and standards in the restoration plans, and applicable guidelines.
This project restored fish passage from the Red River to 50 miles of quality upstream Lake Sturgeon and Walleye habitats in the Sand Hill River by modifying four structures and modifying the Sand Hill Lake Dam which currently block access. It also enhanced in stream habitat on the SH River.
Acquire approximately 44 acres along the Sauk River for a regional park to provide nature-based outdoor recreation including nature trails, canoe access, snow shoeing, and cross country skiing.
Blufflands oak forest regeneration is threatened by invasive species, lack of fire, and subsequent succession to less desirable northern hardwood trees, such as maple and basswood. This proposal combines invasive species treatments, increased use of fire in fire-dependent forests, and mast tree planting on sites being converted from ag land to forest as well as existing stands identified for harvest by the Subsection Forest Resource Management Plan (SFRMP) and the Sustainable Timber Analysis.
This program aims to meet emerging and unique project needs in the Minnesota State Parks and Trails system. The program has initiated activities around Buffalo herd management and has plans for other activities to be determined.
Group camps provide an opportunity for groups to camp together outside the traditional campground. Group camps are used by scout groups, church groups, social groups, and families. A need has been identified to add amenities to rustic group camps, such as electrical hookups, a picnic shelter, and in some instances, modern sanitation facilities.
