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:
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.
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.
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.
1. Pioneer Photography by Doug Ohman - photography of historical and agricultural themes., 2. I Polka Band - old time music from local group., 3. The Coyotes - blue grass music from local group., 4. Church Cabin repair - Replica cabin of 1839 needing new logs and repair.
The Minnesota County Geologic Atlas program is an ongoing effort begun in 1979 that is being conducted jointly by the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Geological Survey and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This portion, called Part B and conducted by the DNR, analyzes water samples to understand water chemistry and sensitivity to pollution.
The Minnesota County Geologic Atlas program is an ongoing effort begun in 1982 that is being conducted jointly by the University of Minnesota's Minnesota Geological Survey and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The program collects information on the geology of Minnesota to create maps and reports depicting the characteristics and pollution sensitivity of Minnesota's ground-water resources.
The Minnesota County Geologic Atlas program is an ongoing effort begun in 1982 that is being conducted jointly by the University of Minnesota's Minnesota Geological Survey and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The program collects information on the geology of Minnesota to create maps and reports depicting the characteristics and pollution sensitivity of Minnesota's ground-water resources.
The demographic for Benton County needs access to quality arts and culture and historical programming. We will utilize our Activity Area and Cottonwood Stage to introduce some art forms to the visitors of our Benton County Fair programming. Our fair has a high attendance and it provides the perfect opportunity to enhance an introduction to arts through our programming and events.
Benton County is listed as one of the rural counties of Minnesota with lower access to the arts and culture, and has a low number of museums. As a larger event venue that provides access to the community, we utilize a couple of areas in our fairgrounds to provide access to programming that encourages participation and access to those areas. Emotion in Motion is one of the acts that we are looking forward to working with in our activity area. Families and children will enjoy an interactive program that benefits their creative process.
We will be looking at the way the early pioneers lived, worked and enjoyed themselves in the early days of Minnesota. Repairing a log cabin on the grounds, showing how metal work was done and explaining how early lumberjack camps worked will be a great educational experience. Also the sound of the music of the early descendants of the area will be greatly enjoyed.
