The Minnesota Biological Survey (MBS) is an ongoing effort begun in 1987 by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that is systematically surveying, county-by-county, the state’s natural habitats. The effort identifies significant natural areas and collects and interprets data on the status, distribution, and ecology of plants, animals, and native plant communities throughout the state. To date, surveys have been completed in 81 of Minnesota’s 87 counties and nearly 20,000 records of rare features have been recorded.
Many of the most experienced conservation practitioners at local soil and water conservation districts throughout the state are nearing retirement, and with their departure will go much of their practical, on-the-ground knowledge, experience, and skills. Meanwhile, college students seeking to be the next generation of conservation practitioners have knowledge of emerging technologies and other innovations that can improve and contribute to current conservation efforts.
Funds are appropriated for programs and purposes of the Minnesota Humanities Center. The humanities remind us of where we have been, bring knowledge and insights to current life, and help us envision where we are going. We work to articulate and strengthen what connects us, rather than what divides us.
Farming is at the heart of Minnesota’s history and development, yet today more than half of all Minnesotans live in urban or suburban settings with little or no exposure to Minnesota’s agricultural history or culture. The Wells Fargo Family Farm provides an opportunity for the Zoo’s 1.3 million guests to experience a working farm, directly interact with farm staff and animals, and learn to appreciate agricultural food production.
There are 67 Minnesota State Parks and 7 Minnesota State Recreation areas that each have facilities to serve outdoor recreation users. Funds in this category are used for developing new facilities and include visitor centers, trail centers, roads, parking lots, bridges, campgrounds, and so on.
The Arts and Access Programs included two major new initiatives: 1. New arts and access programming at Minnesota Children’s Museum-Rochester; and 2. Creativity Jam Exhibit, which engaged Minnesota children and families in a changing line-up of large-scale creative arts projects and loose parts play at the Minnesota Children's Museum's flagship downtown Saint Paul site.
The objective of this project is to build on previous efforts aimed at determining the public health risk due to virus contamination in Minnesota groundwater. The Minnesota Department of Health will examine the occurrence of viruses in non-disinfecting groundwater sources in Minnesota as well as evaluate the association between source water virus occurrence and community acute gastrointestinal illness.
Minnesota Trout Unlimited enhanced in-stream and riparian habitat for trout and other wildlife along more than 11 miles of coldwater streams across the state. We far exceeded our original targets, enhancing habitat on 135 acres rather than 78. We completed 16 separate stream habitat projects. Leveraging other funding and efficiently contracting projects allowed us to add habitat projects and adjust to changing conditions.
The Arboretum, consistent with the priorities of the LSOHC, successfully purchased 78.13 acres in Victoria, Minnesota adjacent to Arboretum property. The purchase will ensure the protection of the deepest lake in Carver County and valuable habitat for future generations.
This project is was the third request of LSOHC to target riparian buffers for clean water and wildlife using the Reinvest In Minnesota easement program. The Clean Water Fund and OHF were be used in cooperation to secure priority buffers permanently. Five hundred and thirty three acres of enhanced wildlife and water quality buffers were protected with OHF dollars and a total of 1,208 acres were protected from all sources of funding.
This project will create a high accuracy elevation dataset - critical for effectively planning and implementing water quality projects - for the state of Minnesota using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and geospatial mapping technologies. Although some areas of the state have been mapped previously, many counties remain unmapped or have insufficient or inadequate data. This multi-year project, to be completed in 2012, is a collaborative effort of Minnesota's Digital Elevation Committee and partners with county surveyors to ensure accuracy with ground-truthing.
The humanities remind us of where we have been, bring knowledge and insights to current life, and help us envision where we are going. We work to articulate and strengthen what connects us, rather than what divides us. The Minnesota Humanities Center collaborates with organizations and individuals to develop programs that facilitate and frame community conversations, deepen connections, and bring into public life the authentic voices of all people, especially those that have often been left out or marginalized.
