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.
