Funds are to be used to protect, enhance and restore water quality in lakes, rivers and streams and to protect groundwater and drinking water. Activities include structural and vegetative practices to reduce runoff and retain water on the land, feedlot water quality projects, SSTS abatement grants for low income individuals, and stream bank, stream channel and shoreline protection projects. For the fiscal year 2012, BWSR awarded 13 local governments with funds to complete 143 projects. More information is available in the detail reports below.
While aspen is one of the most dominant forest types, predicted future conditions will negatively impact aspen growth. Increasing tree diversity can provide increase ecological and economic resilience.
Revitalizing the old deer yards into Caribou Yards is a transformative initiative aimed at creating habitats for a herd of caribou. The need for this project arises from the closure of the old deer yards, which were previously inhabited by white-tailed deer until the last one passed away of old age. Subsequently, the fencing surrounding these three habitats has weathered and suffered damage during the years of inoccupancy.
To hire a qualified architect to prepare a conditions assessment and planning documents for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, proposed to be used as a community center, and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
On many public lands in northwest Minnesota, cattail growth has far exceeded the distribution recommended for optimum wetland wildlife habitat and a need for cattail control has become recognized. Cattails have also recently been demonstrated to have bioenergy potential.
The Pennington SWCD has collaborated with Pennington County for several years to identify priority County Ditch reaches that are in need of buffers and grade stabilization structures. This cooperative effort has resulted in the reduction of nutrient and sediment delivery to the Red Lake River Watershed. Pennington SWCD has recently inventoried buffer and grade stabilization needs on three different County Ditch systems: 96, 21 and 16. A total of 23 miles of ditch has been inventoried, 15 miles of buffer are needed along with 81 grade stabilization structures.
Pileated Woodpeckers are keystone habitat modifiers that support an array of game, non-game, and conservation concern species. Additional information is needed to understand cavity dynamics for these species.
The Chief's Coulee drainage area, in northern Thief River Falls, has been identified as a source of flooding and water quality concerns through inspection and water quality sampling. Once a natural drainage course, many diverse land uses now surround the Coulee which include agriculture, industrial railroad yards, grain elevators, recycling operators, residential development, and municipal street department facilities. Extremely high concentrations of pollutants and water quality indicators, such as E.
The Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota (CMSM) will build upon a strong foundation of Minnesota Arts, Culture and Heritage (ACH) learning experiences made possible with prior MN Legacy funding support to:
Sediment and water quality issues are local priorities within the Thief River and Red Lake River watersheds, which have their confluence in the city of Thief River Falls. The 1W1P effort underway in the Red Lake River Watershed will identify opportunities for projects and practices that are targeted and result in measurable water quality benefits throughout the watershed using PTMApp.
This project will produce a final Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report that will be utilized by local government units for water planning purposes during the Board of Water and Soil Resources One Water One Plan process for the Clearwater River Watershed.
The overall goal is to develop a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) Report and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Study that will address water quality impairments and maintain or improve water quality throughout the Clearwater River watershed. The study will identify sources of pollutants to the streams and lakes, allocate pollution reduction goals, and prioritize and identify implementation strategies to maintain or improve water quality in key lakes and streams in the watershed.
Rising temperatures and increased precipitation contribute to decreased oxygen and increased methane in Minnesota lakes and wetlands. We will identify impacts on water quality and methane emissions, providing management guidance.
Voyageurs Conservancy will connect 17,000 Minnesotans to the state's only national park through standards-aligned K-12 education, career-building fellowships, and enhanced programs that engage diverse audiences in the park's conservation.
Wilderness Inquiry will expand its work to provide a continuum of outdoor experiences for youth, adults, and families in communities across Minnesota by:
As of 11/1/2022, the CPL program has provided over 900 grants totaling $109 million to over 200 different grantee organizations, improving or protecting over 339,000 acres of habitat. Demand for CPL grants has continued to grow each year as new applicants hear about the program and successful grantees return. In ML 2018 there were 107 grants awarded- 18 metro grants, 20 traditional grants, and 69 Expedited Conservation Partners grants. Through these 107 grants, over 18,000 acres were restored, enhanced, or protected. Over $11M was awarded to organizations for projects.
Grassland ecosystems evolved to depend on periodic disturbances, such as fire and grazing, to maintain their health and stability. Periodic disturbances help control invasive species, add nutrients back into the soil, germinate plant seeds, enhance wildlife habitat, and more. In Minnesota habitat managers have used fire as a disturbance tool for decades but the use of grazing has been much rarer, mostly because of a lack of necessary infrastructure such as fencing.
The Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program, managed by the Department of Natural Resources, provided 56 competitive matching grants to non-profit organizations and governments, appropriating all the available ML12 funds.
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.
As of 11/1/2023, the CPL program has provided over 970 grants totaling $115 million to over 250 different grantee organizations, improving or protecting over 577,000 acres of habitat. Demand for CPL grants has continued to grow each year as new applicants hear about the program and successful grantees return. In ML 2019 there were 99 grants awarded- 15 metro grants, 29 traditional grants, and 55 Expedited Conservation Partners grants. Through these 99 grants, over 34,000 acres were restored, enhanced, or protected. Over $10.6M was awarded to organizations for projects.
This year the Wilkin County Ag Society will use the legacy grant to hire musical entertainment throughout the duration of the fair. We will also have a magician and balloon artist for two days of the fair. This year we will be having a draft horse pulling demonstration that will include the history of how horse pulls played a role in early county fairs.
We would like to hire an agricultural educational magician to perform Friday and Saturday of our fair. Rick fiedlier and Eric Reitan will also perform. The remainder of our funds will be to host our horse and pony pull demonstrations.
