This project fulfills legislative direction to expand recreational opportunities on Minnesota State Trails through the development of new trail segments; and the rehabilitation and enhancement of existing State Trails.
Use existing tools and partnerships to meet protection goals and transition to long-term community driven, coordinated management for multiple benefits, including: habitat, water, forest health, local economy and climate resiliency.
Long-term forest plot datasets are helpful for understanding the changing conditions and ecology of forestland over time. The USDA Forest Service produced statewide forest inventories in 1935, 1953, 1962, 1977, 1990, 2003, 2008, and 2013. Unfortunately, only the data from 1977 to the present is currently easily accessible and available in full.
The St. Croix River is one of the most pristine, large river ecosystems remaining in the upper Mississippi River System. Washington County, in partnership with the City of Stillwater, is using this appropriation to acquire 15 acres containing 3,500 feet of St. Croix River shoreline just north of downtown Stillwater and parallel to the Brown’s Creek State Trail. The land will be turned into a local nature park for trail users, river users, tourists, and area residents with passive recreation including fishing, boat launching, walking, and picnicking.
Develop pilot programs to increase mattress recycling, pilot curbside furniture recycling program, and evaluate the effectiveness of mattress and furniture recycling to reduce the impact of disposal on the environment.
Unified Worldwide is a Hmong language Hip Hop project which includes songs accompanied by a curriculum. This is a journey to relearn Hmong language through writing lyrics. A strong focus of songs on this album are "message" and "content" to address social issues, reflect personal stories and preserve cultural identity. This album incorporates collaborations with Hmong elders who are masters of traditional instruments such as rab ncas (mouth harp), lub raj (flute) and xim xaus (violin).
A class of insecticides known as systemic neonicotinyl insecticides has been identified as a potential factor in recently observed declines in pollinators, including the phenomenon amongst honeybees known as Colony Collapse Disorder. Previous research examining the effects of neonicotinyl insecticides on lab colonies of bumblebees found that exposure to these insecticides at various levels increased queen bee mortality and detrimentally altered bee behavior and production.
Land and water conservation efforts require accurate information about land cover and land use. Minnesota’s land cover and land use data has not been updated since 2000 and so does not reflect changes since that time resulting from growth and development, agricultural production, or landscape cover. Researchers at the University of Minnesota are using this appropriation to conduct a statewide update and enhancement of land cover and land use data and make it freely available online for use by government and non-government organizations involved in land and water conservation.
This project builds capacity in soil water conservation districts and Mille Lacs Band with BWSR and DNR to accelerate tree planting for water quality and carbon sequestration by private landowners.
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare construction documents for the preservation of the 1902 C.E. Williams House, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Completion of the Master Plan for the Zumbro River Regional Water Trail (ZRRWT). Roughly 150 miles of navigable waters that wind through a diverse landscape before joining the Mississippi River.
