The Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program will be managed by the Department of Natural Resources to provide competitive matching grants of up to $400,000 to local, regional, state, and national non-profit organizations and government entities. In it's first 7 years of funding, the CPL program has provided 410 grants totaling $37 million to 133 different grantee organizations, positively affecting over 220,000 acres of habitat. Demand for CPL grants has continued to grow each year as new grantees hear about the program and successful grantees return.
With the ML 2015 appropriation The Conservation Partners Legacy (CPL) Grant Program awarded 70 grants, 22 of these grants were the metropolitan area. Over 24,000 acres were enhanced, 2,500 acres were restored, and 386 acres protected through these 70 projects. Thirty-eight counties had CPL projects completed in them through 47 unique organizations. The average project for the ML 2015 grants was $96,000, with few exceptions most projects were completed on time and many were under budget.
The Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program will be managed by the Department of Natural Resources to provide competitive matching grants of up to $400,000 to local, regional, state, and national non-profit organizations and government entities.
To survey the exterior of the building, make historically sensitive recommendations, and create construction-ready documents for needed improvements that will enhance the exterior of the historic building without negatively impacting the historic structure.
Terrestrial invasive plants such as buckthorn, wild parsnip, garlic mustard, and others are becoming widespread threats throughout many sites in Minnesota. Present chemical and mechanical control methods tend to be costly, effective only in the short-term, or have other negative environmental impacts. However, an alternative practice of using grazing animals for invasive species management is used successfully in many parts of the western United States.
The Cottonwood River watershed is one of the last remaining watersheds to complete Cycle I of the Watershed Restoration & Protections Strategies (WRAPS) process. The scope of this project upon completion is have two reports developed; a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies report and a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the entire watershed.
We are going to have a different balloon artist this year. We are inviting a southeast Minnesota resident to perform for our youth. We will also have The Red Letter Band, an inspirational country music band. They perform a variety of classic county hits and have prize giveaways for crowd participation. They provide a nostalgic opportunity to listen to music that all will enjoy.
The "Looney Lutherans" will be back again to perform a new show for our community. They fit well into our local cultural history using music and comedy to showcase our past, present and future with the performance of "Hotdish on the Range." This show provides a free opportunity for those that are not able to make the trip to the Twin Cities. Many of our local residents can relate to the antics of the church women. , This year we are also excited to bring the Minnesota Raptor program to the fair. We were unable to have them last year due to the Avian Flu.
We will have a totally new experience for one of our afternoon events for the youth at the Fillmore County Fair this year. We plan to bring "Emotion in Motion," a mobile splatter paint experience to our fair. This will be a fully immersive artistic experience, that is easy and fun for youth. When finished they will have an original splatter painting for their walls. We try to incorporate new things each year at the fair to accompany the traditional events that fairgoers expect.
We are excited to bring in a group that will provide some authentic "German" heritage. The "Concord Singers" from New Ulm, Minnesota will delight the fairgoers with the heritage that has been preserved, nurtured and cherished. They will perform their festive German tunes that have been inherited from their ancestors. Another new event that we will have is Draugr Forge. Zach is a bladesmith that will be demonstrating his ability to make various knives and tools using his forging skills.
