Metro Big Rivers Phase 3 protected 67 acres of significant habitat along more than 1 mile of the Mississippi River, restored 8 acres of prairie and enhanced 495 acres of priority habitat (47 wetland acres, 50 prairie acres and 398 forest acres) in the Metropolitan Urbanizing Area.
This project will establish a groundwater monitoring network in the 11 county metropolitan area. The network will provide information about aquifer characteristics and natural water trends by monitoring healthy aquifers (non-stressed systems). The project will also develop an automated system that captures groundwater level and water use data. This system will enhance evaluation of changes in aquifers that are stressed by pumping from existing wells.
The Civics Education Coalition will create opportunities for students, enrich teacher capacity to engage students, and build state-wide networks. Work will include an interactive website, online youth summit, youth conference, new lessons for educators, teacher institutes, and expansion of the statewide Civic Education Network and its activities.
Arts and Cultural Heritage funding will allow us to pursue three major initiatives between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016: 1) Offer special exhibits and programs promoting creative and critical thinking in our main museum in St. Paul; 2) A Pop-up satellite Museum at the Mall of America featuring four changing exhibits to attract thousands of new visitors; and 3) Changing exhibits and access at Minnesota Children’s Museum-Rochester to ensure inclusive family experiences for the Rochester community. Recipient:
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 DNR has been charged by the legislature to develop rules that protect and manage the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA) for natural resource, economic development, transportation, historic preservation, and other values. This project engages stakeholder groups in a public process to balance regulatory protections with local flexibility and control.
Continue contracts with Conservation Corps of Minnesota (CCM) to engage youth of the community in natural resource management projects throughout Ramsey County Regional Parks and Trails. *(In 2013 the Conservation Corp of Minnesota (CCM) worked on over 20 different natural resource projects within the Regional Park and Trails System, totaling over 5,900 hours. Of those total hours, approximately, 1,300 hours were assisting high school youth on natural resource projects and environmental education).
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)
This appropriation allowed the permanent protection of 887 acres in western Minnesota. These properties included 664 acres of remnant native prairie, 76 acres of associated wetlands complexes, and 8,500' of streamfront. For this phase we originally planned to protect 740 acres with a minimum of 375 native prairie. Both targets were exceeded - 120% of total acres and 177% of native prairie acres.
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).
Continue Implementation of adopted park master plan: Complete Road & Utility Construction from the end of Phase II to the Harriet Island area (2,800 lineal feet). Lilydale hosts approximately 786,000 visits annually, of which approximately 10% are of Asian descent.
This project restored and enhanced 165 acres of prairie & woodland habitat along the Mississippi and Rum Rivers. Outcomes include increased plant diversity and habitat for game and non-game species and is beneficial to migratory waterfowl on the Mississippi River flyway as well as to pollinators and resident wildlife.
Though many parts of the Twin Cities metropolitan area are urbanized, there are also has large areas of natural lands that continue to serve as important habitat for fish, wildlife, and plant communities. However, pressure on these remaining lands continues to intensify as population and development pressures increase.
The Metropolitan Council, in conjunction with the University of Minnesota, is evaluating outdoor water use in the Twin Cities metro region - a subject which has come under the spotlight recently due to concerns related to water quality and quantity issues. In the Twin Cities, 20% of all treated drinking water is used outdoors, with a majority of this being used on lawns and landscapes. The goal of this proposal is to reduce water use in the home landscape by conducting assessments, research, and demonstration around the smart use of irrigation.
As the Metropolitan Council updated the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area Master Water Supply Plan, stakeholders asked the Council to consider the sustainable limits of the region’s water sources. The Council’s most important analytical tool is a regional groundwater flow model (Metro Model 3), which can be used to quantify the long-term regional impacts caused by hundreds of independent groundwater appropriations.
The Metropolitan Council, in conjunction with HDR Engineering, Inc. consultants, will evaluate a variety of approaches to develop sustainable water supplies across the metro area. Subregional study areas are being selected where multiple communities face potential problems with the long-term sustainability of current water supplies, and where community stakeholders have expressed interest in learning more about sustainable water supply options.
Bald Eagle-Otter Lakes Regional Park preliminary design development plans for trail development to connect Tamarack Nature Center to the Otter Lake boat launch at Bald Eagle-Otter Lakes Regional Park.
Lilydale-Harriet Island Regional Park. Continued phased implementation of approved Lilydale Regional Park Master Plan elements that may include such amenities as construction of approx. 3,000 lineal feet of roadway, trail, and related facilities. Lilydale
This Legacy grant will focus on the too-often neglected local school districts that have generally not participated in the CDM SSP at the same level as distant schools in surrounding counties. A new CDM interactive exhibit is badly needed to draw back visitors who have been looking for something new at the Museum for children.
Ducks Unlimited successfully completed this Phase 4 our land acquisition/restoration program to protect shallow lakes and restore wetlands by purchasing and restoring 1,004 acres of land with drained wetlands and land on shallow lakes as additions to state Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) for the MNDNR throughout southern Minnesota.
The Children's Discovery Museum in Grand Rapids will build on recent enrollment momentum and further increase participation with its School Service Program, which takes down the economic barriers for visiting school groups. The Legacy grant will fund more educators and facilitators, curriculum development, scholarship aid, transportation assistance, art and teaching supplies, and the addition of a new exhibit to the museum.