Develop and implement out-reach for nature and outdoor recreation based programming for people of low income and color throughout Ramsey County Regional Parks and Trails. (year 1 of 2)
The Minnesota Historical Society and the Wilder Foundation worked with two new groups of existing and emerging community leaders in 2015 to enhance their ability to act on important community issues.
During each six-month program, 245 participants explored neighborhood involvement and developed leadership skills to take effective community action.
New State Trail development to complete key missing trail segments or to fulfill funding gaps in trail development projects. Potetial development to include multi-use trail, trail parking areas, trail waysides, or trail bridges. New trail development includes all associated engineering, design and construction, and is to incorporate current Best Management Practices.
Nicollet County is located in south central Minnesota and is bordered on two sides by the Minnesota River. A line of forested bluffs separate the river valley from land that is relatively flat and historically used for agricultural purposes. Approximately 245,000 acres of the County are actively farmed. The 2012 impaired waters list for water bodies located in Nicollet County include the Minnesota River, Seven Mile Creek, Rogers Creek and tributaries to the Rush River.
Money was appropriated to the two Immersion Schools to develop and expand K-12 curriculum; provide fluent speakers in the classroom; develop appropriate testing and evaluation procedures; and develop community-based training and engagement.
This project will provide an interpretive assessment of nitrogen concentrations in Minnesota rivers and streams, including spatial and temporal trends based on historical data sets. The trends analyses will provide information useful for evaluating nitrogen reduction efforts in the past couple of decades.
DNR regional clean water specialists and area hydrologists work with local partners to provide technical assistance on implementation projects and related outreach, resulting in cleaner water through healthier watersheds, shorelands and floodplains. We help partners identify, develop, target, design and/or implement on-the-ground projects that improve water quality, enhance habitat and protect infrastructure. We help design restorations that provide lasting benefits by mimicking features of healthy ecosystems.
This Sharp-tailed Grouse Habitat Partnership protected 834 acres, primarily brushland, in Kanabec County for addition to the WMA system, providing multiple environmental benefits.
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare planning documents for the preservation of the Northern Pacific Depot, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, now used for multiple purposes including an Amtrak Station and city history museum.
This appropriation allowed the permanent protection of 977 acres in western Minnesota. These properties included 752 acres of remnant native prairie, 78 acres of associated wetland complexes, 8,950' of stream front, and 9,400' of lakeshore. Lands and easements purchased through this program by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) are transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and become units of the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge. These lands are owned and managed by the FWS.
This appropriation allowed the permanent protection of 1,283 acres in western Minnesota, including 583 acres of remnant prairie, 500 acres of other grasslands, 88 acres of wetlands, and more than 8,150' of streamfront. For this phase we had originally planned to protect 1,090 acres, with at least 545 acres of native prairie. We exceeded both goals, protecting 118% of the total acre goal and 107% of the native prairie acre goal. All parcels that were purchased with this funding by TNC have been transferred to the USFWS as part of the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge.
Minnesota’s 12 regional public library systems, which encompass 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional public library system receives a formula-driven allocation from the annual $3 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant.
Minnesota’s twelve regional library systems, which encompass more than 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, can benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional library system is eligible to receive a formula-driven allocation from the annual $2.2 million Minnesota Regional Library System Legacy Grant. Northwest Regional Library System (NRL) is a consolidated regional public library system in upper northwest Minnesota.
The Northwood Lake Improvement Project will treat storm water runoff from over 110 acres of currently untreated urban land through a variety of practices at two different locations adjacent to the lake. Northwood Lake is an impoundment of the North Branch of Bassett Creek located in the City of New Hope within the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission (BCWMC). Northwood Lake is a shallow lake with a fully developed watershed of 1,341 acres that provides very little stormwater treatment.
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare planning documents that will help preserve the Norway Lutheran Church (Muskego), listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
To complete step one of a three year program titled Norwegian Day at Pennington County Fair. With the purchase of a stage and sound system, the fair will be able to host performances, workshops and a fashion show.
Regionally, nitrate nitrogen concentrations are continuing to increase in both surface water and ground water based on monitoring data. The increasing trends are thought to be attributable to over application of manure and commercial nutrients on row-cropped fields. In order for nitrate concentrations to decrease, nutrient management is needed throughout the basin. Two nutrient management specialists will assist landowners in the eleven-county Southeast Minnesota Area with writing nutrient management plans and implementing conservation practices for manure and fertilizer use.
Oak Glen Creek is immediately upstream of drinking water intakes for Minneapolis and St. Paul. When it rains, the runoff along Oak Glen Creek runs down bare soil cliffs that are 20 to 30 feet high, causing large amounts of sediment to erode into the creek and make its way to the Mississippi River. This corridor stabilization project will address multiple local and regional priorities and will benefit both cities source water projection efforts.
Prepare System-wide Off Leash Dog Area (O.L.D.A.) Master Plan that will identify and prioritize future capital projects at the Battle Creek O.L.D.A, Battle Creek Regional Park; Otter Lake O.L.D.A., Bald Eagle Otter Lake Regional Park; Rice Creek O.L.D.A., Rice Creek North Corridor. ( 2013 Park Visits; Bald Eagle Otter Lake, 333,600 visits; Battle Creek Regional Park, 761,900 visits; and Grass Vadnais Snail Lakes Regional Park, 746,300 visits).
The short term goals are to create a constant and regular forum of Ojibwe language discourse between speakers. To record historical stories, anecdotes, and traditional lessons during appropriate times and in appropriate places, and to make documentation of local dialect forms.
A collaboration between the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and the White Earth Nation. The long term goal of this grant is to build whole families of first generation speakers. The short-term goals are to enable the partners to continue forward with their language revitalization efforts by providing digital media support, purchase digital high definition audio and video equipment. Additionally, they will host an elders and youth gathering.
To hire a qualified historian to complete an evaluation to determine eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for Olcott Park in Virginia, MN.
To provide needed repairs to a historical building, the Old Church, on the Anoka County fairgrounds. Over 100 years old, the Old Church is also home to the Anoka County Arts Alliance during the week of the fair. The mission of the Anoka County Arts Alliance is to identify, provide support for, and promote the activities of the Anoka County arts community.
To repair the 1926 Old Settlers' Cabin to make it suitable for historical displays and programming. No historical displays or programming have been housed at the Cabin since the early 1950s. The fair board, along with the Kandiyohi County Historical Society, will use the repaired and enhanced space to display pictures and relics of the county's early history.
Funds will be used to repair the foundation and seal logs. Track lighting and secure display cases will highlight exhibits.
