A long-term project to protect Minnesota's only population of ball cactus has begun successfully. To cement this success, population expansion/establishment will finish and long-term volunteer monitors will be trained.
This project is designed to reduce sediment in the Wild River River based on a state approved plan (TMDL). The estimated water quality benefits completed by this project are 12,980 (120 truckloads) tons of soil saved per year, which will assist in reducing turbidity impairments downstream on the LWRR.
This Corridor Habitat Restoration Project is a cooperative effort between the District (WRWD), MN Board of Soil
and Water Resources (MNBWSR), MN DNR, and Red River Watershed Management Board (RRWMB). This is a
voluntary program with the long-term goal to restore a natural corridor area along the Lower Reach of the Wild
Rice River. When completed, the project will restore 23 channelized river miles to 50 miles of natural stream
channel. The funding from this allocation was used to protect and restore approximately 151 acres of floodplain
Channelization of the Lower Wild Rice River in the early 1900s converted 50 miles of sinuous river channel to 23 miles of straight channel and lost several thousand acres of wetland and grassland habitat within the river corridor. Through an established and successful partnership between the Wild Rice Watershed District and the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, this 4th request for funding from LSOHC will permanently protect 420 acres of private lands in easements.
This Corridor Habitat Restoration Project is a cooperative effort between the District (WRWD), MN Board of Soil and Water Resources (MNBWSR), MN DNR, and Red River Watershed Management Board (RRWMB). This is a voluntary program with the long-term goal to restore a natural corridor area along the Lower Reach of the Wild Rice River. When completed, the project will restore 23 channelized river miles to 50 miles of natural stream channel.
This project will support water quality monitoring and data analysis in the Red River Basin. The monitoring will assist in providing water chemistry data needed to calculate annual pollutant loads for the Major Watershed Load Monitoring Program (MWLMP) and provide short term data sets of select parameters to other MPCA programs.
Leveraging new statewide climate data, we will assess future change in the duration, frequency and magnitude of heavy precipitation and drought events and engage communities to prepare for these extremes.
Phase 2 of the Marsh River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) project includes: continued civic engagement; production of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study, which allocates pollutant load reductions for impaired waters; and production of the WRAPS report, which identifies implementation strategies that will maintain or improve water quality in many lakes and streams throughout the watershed.
The goals of Phase I of the Marsh River Watershed (WRW) Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) project are to: 1) gather or develop watershed data needed for the development of the WRAPS project; 2) establish project and sub-basin work groups, develop a social outcomes strategy, and develop a civic engagement evaluation strategy to guide the WRAPS project; and 3) begin to identify, create, and organize tools that can be used to determine potential stressors and priority management areas.
The ENRTF grant will introduce 12 young people to conservation careers through full-time, paid internships and apprenticeships on the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge (16 FTEs over 2 years).
The majority of this funding will support our largest public art exhibit ever Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World and promoting the associated artists and community art classes during the critical period of July through November 2025 (as well as preparation for those exhibit months during the first half of 2025). The exhibit will take place in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
(Neo)Muralismos de Mexico will develop and launch new youth programming in partnership through Mankato Youth Camp (MN State University Mankato), Austin Area Children (Austin folk artist Flor Soto, City of Austin, Austin Area Arts, and Riverland Community College), Saint Paul's West Side (Wellstone Center, St. Paul Parks and Recreation, and local schools), and South Minneapolis (Lake Street businesses and organizations). Including a two-week camp, workshops, hands-on art activities, painting, papier-m?ch?, and public art.
Expanding waste diversion practices across the state this project will: create 16 jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide data to measure the social, economic, and environmental benefits of waste diversion.
Legacy funds allow the Minnesota Zoo to extend the season of the Wells Fargo Family Farm beyond its historical May to September season to include full programming and exhibits from April through November.
The Civics Education Coalition will create opportunities for students, enrich teacher capacity to engage students, and build state-wide networks. Work will include an interactive website, online youth summit, youth conference, new lessons for educators, teacher institutes, and expansion of the statewide Civic Education Network and its activities.
The Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center (MITPPC) requests $7 million to fund up to 20 new, high-priority applied TIS research projects to improve Minnesota's natural and agricultural resources.
We will investigate the potential of natural microbes indigenous to Minnesota to biodegrade conventional plastics in the environment as a means for cleaning contaminated soils and waters across the state.
This project proposes to expand recreational opportunities on Minnesota State Trails through the rehabilitation and enhancement of existing state trails and replacement or repair of existing state trail bridges.
Minnesota Public Radio is the state's largest cultural organization, providing 96 percent of the population with free access to some of the best broadcast cultural programming in the world. Minnesota Public Radio is using a grant from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund to implement projects around the following four goals:
This funding is for arts, arts education, and arts access, and to preserve Minnesota's history and cultural heritage.
The Minnesota Children's Museum will develop a literacy focused exhibit to catalyze community engagement around early childhood learning and education.
The Clean Water Fund and OHF were used together to secure easements on buffer areas. Seven easements were recorded for a total of 606.5 acres. These acres represent 303.1 acres funded by OHF and 303.4 acres funded by non-OHF sources. Only the OHF acres are being reported in this final report to be consistent with the approved accomplishment plan.
Goals for Phase 2 of the MN Prairie Recovery Program were to: protect 1200 acres native prairie/savanna; restore 250 acres grassland; enhance 6000 acres grassland/savanna with fire, invasive species removal, and grazing; and continue a new prairie conservation model.
The Clean Water Fund (CWF) and Outdoor Heritage Fund (OHF) were used together to secure easements on buffer areas. 71 easements have been recorded for a total of 1,083.9 acres and are reported in the output tables for the final report (acre total does not include Clean Water Fund acres). The total acreage from both CWF and OHF sources for recorded easements is 2,105.0 acres. Only the OHF acres are being reported in this final report to be consistent with the approved accomplishment plan.
The Minnesota State Band is a 45-piece concert band that performs a wide variety of music throughout the year. This year, the band celebrates 125 years as an arts organization. We are a part of Minnesota's rich history.
When we receive legacy funding, our goals are to increase the number of concert tours, continuing to reach out to smaller communities around Minnesota, sharing our love of music with residents, and planning joint events with school and community music and arts groups throughout our state.
This project is a documentary and includes working in partnership with East Side Freedom Library (ESFL) and Vietnamese Social Services (VSS) and with Cambodian American Partnership (CAP) as a program partner with the collaborative aim to provide a platform for Southeast Asian women to share their experiences preserving history, honoring more inclusively the lives impacted, and building awareness of these stories in Minnesota, of particular relevance for our state where Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese American communities established post-Vietnam War and continue to grow.
This project will support the sampling of six stream sites: two reaches of the Little Rock River, two Locations on the Kanaranzi Creek, one location on the East Branch of the Kanaranzi Creek as well as one location on the Ocheyedan River.
