Privately owned lands exist within the designated boundaries of state parks throughout Minnesota. Purchase of these lands from willing landowners for addition into the state park system makes them permanently available for public recreation and enjoyment and facilitates more efficient management. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is using this appropriation to acquire 87 acres in the Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area, located northeast of Brainerd, and 17 acres in Whitewater State Park, located between Rochester and Winona.
Project Overview Minnesota, which was recently named "Best Trails State" in the country, is host to numerous state trails providing a variety of different outdoor recreational opportunities throughout the state. This appropriation is allowing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to acquire land expanding two of these state trails: the Brown's Creek segment of the Willard Munger Trail in Washington County and the Paul Bunyan Trail along Lake Bemidji.
Funds from this appropriation were directed wholly toward the Division of Parks & Trails (PAT) resource management program. The PAT resource management program was established in 1978 and is responsible for planning, coordinating and implementing natural/cultural resource management efforts on division-administered lands. PAT administers approximately 250,000 acres of land, of which less than 5% is developed as campgrounds, roads/trails or other use areas.
MNHS and the Minnesota State Fair Foundation increased awareness and knowledge of Minnesota history by providing quality programming for visitors to the Great Minnesota Get-Together. In 2016, new content was added to the Minnesota State Fair History Walking Tour brochure, including a wide array of diverse images of people at the fair. Audio and visual content was also available through the tour's smartphone component, and staff presented audio/visual content via social media throughout the fair.
Priority lands will be acquired and developed as State Forests to protect forests, habitat and provide public hunting, trapping and compatible outdoor uses.
Priority lands were acquired within the Richard J. Dorer State Forest; protecting forests, habitat and providing public hunting, trapping and compatible outdoor uses as well as watershed protection. This project protected 203 acres of forest land, reduced boundaries by 3720 feet, provided access to 1116 acres of state forest land, and protected 2000 feet of shoreline.
This program funds unpredictable maintenance expenditures in State Parks such as storm damage, waterline repair, electrical system repair, erosion repair, utility system repair, and small site improvements.
Protected through fee title acquisition 340 acres of priority forestland habitat in the northern and southeast ecological sections of the state. All parcels have been included in the DNR State Forest system; providing for long-term, ongoing protection and management of lands for the benefit of all Minnesotans.
Replacement of picnic tables and fire rings at various state parks with safer, accessible options. To date, picnic table purchases have been completed for 39 (69%) of all state park and recreations areas. New fire rings have been purchased for 36 (74%) of all state park and recreation areas.
MNHS and the Minnesota State Fair Foundation are increasing awareness and knowledge of Minnesota history by providing quality programming for visitors to the Great Minnesota Get-Together. In 2015, the partners added new visual and written content for the Minnesota State Fair History Walking Tour brochure. Audio and visual content was available with the smartphone tour component, and staff presented audio/visual content via social media throughout the fair. Some 40,000 brochures were distributed throughout the fairgrounds during the run of the fair.
The Historic Recognition Grant program will preserve, recognize, and promote the historic legacy of Minnesota, with a focus on commemoration of Minnesota's role in the American Civil War via media, materials, and public programs to underscore the Civil War-era origins of the state capitol to complement the visitor experience once the building reopens for public tours in 2017 is the second of three projects being administered by MNHS in cooperation with the state's Civil War Commemoration Task Force are in development
Acquire top priority in-holdings within legislatively established boundaries of Minnesota's 75 State Parks and State Recreation Areas and 26 State Trails from willing sellers
This agreement is for Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) to provide statewide conservation reporting system support services in order to support Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) programs. Support services will be aimed at both MPCA staff and local government recipients of grants.
The goal of this project is to create a single statewide authoritative enterprise spatial data set of Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) and Scenario Application Manager (SAM) catchment polygons which can be used and shared easily by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency along with other state agencies and local partners.
The pandemic has created challenges for Minnesota families, schools and communities like never before. Throughout this crisis the Science Museum has remained true to its commitment to be a statewide resource for science and education that centers equity. This was demonstrated by our pivot to the development and delivery of online content accessible for users throughout Minnesota. We are excited to welcome back audiences to a safe and engaging museum experience.
An emerging practice called "precision conservation" aims to maximize conservation benefits by considering the value of lands in terms of the interconnected systems of which they are a part. By compiling and integrating multiple types of data layers and analysis that are available today, conservation professionals can use the best and most precise information available to identify, prioritize, and guide conservation efforts.
The Statewide Sediment Network was established to measure the levels of suspended sediment concentrations and particle size distributions at eight sites across Minnesota to evaluate the amount of sediment carried by rivers. USGS sample collection and laboratory analysis techniques provide a more rigorous, robust, and technically accurate measure of sediment in water than the current use of total suspended solids as the measure of sediment in water.
The Minnesota Historical Society created a new traveling exhibits program, called "Exhibits to Go," giving more than 15 communities across Minnesota the ability to experience Minnesota history in their own neighborhood.
Funding for the traveling exhibits came from multiple appropriation categories, including funding for Statewide Historic Programs and for History Partnership Projects.
Partner Organizations: Minnesota Landmark Center, Bakken Museum, Minnesota Humanities Center.
The Minnesota Historical Society partnered with three separate organizations to make the following traveling exhibits available to communities across the state.
Five traveling exhibits are making more than 45 stops in communities around the state in FY12 and FY13, giving more Minnesotans the chance to experience history in their own backyards. The exhibits feature freestanding displays, audiovisual and interactive components, and onsite and online educational programming. They are Minnesota on the Map, Minnesota Homefront, Electrifying Minnesota, Uncle Sam's New Deal and Minnesota Disasters. Two traveling exhibits were developed working with teens.
Having current and accurate data on historic and archaeological sites is important to understanding our past and to preserving Minnesota’s history for future generations. In 2010-2011, the Minnesota Historical Society awarded contracts for these survey projects:
Current and accurate data on historic and archaeological sites is crucial to understanding our past and to preserving Minnesota's history for future generations. In fiscal years 2012 and 2013, the Minnesota Historical Society, the Office of the State Archaeologist and the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council awarded contracts for the following projects: Archaeological Surveys in Steele, McLeod and Red Lake Counties.
Drive innovation in learning experiences, build the capacity for high quality instruction, develop and refine educational and science resources, and increase access to museum collections that tell the story of Minnesota's cultural heritage.
This project will support the MPCA’s water quality monitoring and assessment program. Specifically, the MPCA is developing a refined use designation process known as tiered aquatic life uses (TALU) to account for situations in which stream habitat has been compromised through hydrological alteration (e.g. channelization and ditching). An accurate state-wide determination of altered stream segments based upon the current National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) linework will assist in the assignment of the correct beneficial use within this new TALU framework.
A web-based map viewer, and will be made available to the public through the D.N.R. website (mndnr.gov). All non-state data will rely explicitly on outside resources collected by the University of Minnesota.
Replace campfire rings in state parks and state recreation areas with accessible campfire rings. New fire rings have been purchased for 36 (47%) of all state park and recreation areas.
Minnesota's Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) Program is an effort to preserve and perpetuate the state's ecological diversity and ensure that no single rare feature is lost from any region of the state. This includes unique landforms, fossil remains, plant and animal communities, rare and endangered species, or other unique biotic or geological features. These sites play an important role in scientific study, public education, and outdoor recreation.
Map scale will guide the quantity and type of information available in print form. Legislation passed in 2009, Chapter 172, states the need for a printed map product, as well as a web-based interface that is available to the public. Facilities included on the general legislative printed map (or booklet) will be State and Regional parks, State and major Regional trails, State Forest Campgrounds and Day-Use Areas, and basic information on how to access more information on these facilities.
Replace worn and inaccessible picnic tables in state parks and state recreation areas. To date, picnic table purchases have been completed for 39 (51%) of all state park and recreations areas.
Each fiscal year of ACHF funding, a majority of the participating regional library systems agree to allocate 10% of their ACHF funding to support statewide partnership projects. SELCO serves as the fiscal agent for statewide projects.
The goal of this project will be to research and develop statewide winter maintenance best management practices (BMPs) for inclusion in the Statewide Chloride Management Plan and Winter Maintenance Assessment tool (WMAt). The WMAt is a necessary technical resource and planning tool for stakeholders and permittees to implement the chloride reduction strategies described in the Statewide Chloride Management Plan. This project will enhance the WMAt so that it is an effective planning tool to assist local winter maintenance professionals to reduce salt use.
The goal of this project is to update and revise the Twin Cities Metro Area (TCMA) Chloride Management Plan to a Statewide Chloride Management Plan (CMP). The Statewide CMP will provide stakeholders the information and tools necessary to improve and/or maintain water quality with respect to chloride.
