Acquiring Land and Creating Opportunities - A Parks and Trails Strategic Objective is a program area representing DNR's commitment to one of the four pillars identified in the 25 year Legacy plan. The Legacy plan identifies its purpose to create new and expanded park and trail opportunities to satisfy current customers as well as to reach out to new ones. The purpose of this program is to call attention to the pillar, but also to centralize and streamline reporting on other related programs within the pillar.
An interagency workgroup is developing recommendations for best practices and policies for water reuse in Minnesota. Recommendations will include both regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to successful implementation of water reuse. The workgroup will evaluate current regulations, practices, and barriers, and quantify and determine acceptable health risks associated with water reuse applications. The University of Minnesota is collecting and analyzing field data for use in targeting Minnesota-specific risks.
The AgBMP Loan Program provides needed funding for local implementation of clean water practices at an extremely low cost, is unique in its structure, and is not duplicated by any other source of funding. The AgBMP loan program provides 3% loans through local lenders to farmers, rural landowners, and agriculture supply businesses. Funds are used for proven practices that prevent non-point source water pollution or solve existing water quality problems.
A robot, powered by solar energy, will be developed to control weeds on agricultural lands. We envision significant reductions in fossil-fuel and herbicide use while increasing local energy production.
The Aitkin County Soil and Water Conservation District will partner with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and local volunteers to conduct water quality monitoring in high priority areas of the Upper Mississippi River (Brainerd) Watershed. Four lakes will be sampled, including Sheriff, Rabbit, French, and Section Twelve. Four stream/river sites will be monitored including the Rice River (2 sites), Ripple River, and Sissabagama Creek. Through this effort we will obtain information that will be useful in assessing the health of this watershed.
