After weeks of negotiation, the Minnesota Legislature has reached an agreement on a budget and policy changes for Minnesota’s environmental agencies, as well as the 2020 and 2021 LCCMR bills.
We love and cherish water here in Minnesota, and we’re proud of our “Land of 10,000 Lakes” and headwaters of the Mighty Mississippi heritage. The presence and quality of our lakes and rivers and abundant drinking water (mostly from our groundwater systems) is easy to take for granted. It seems like we Minnesotans are water rich, but is Minnesota a water-rich state for everyone who lives here?
Adopt a River is a new Freshwater program in the works for Spring 2022. It’s a revised version of a great idea that originated with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in the 1980s, when the program evolved out of the environmental concerns and aimed to empower Minnesotans as stewards and ambassadors of the state’s public waters.
We had near-record sign up for our Earth Day Moos lecture delivered by Alistar Boxall, who holds a doctorate in ecotoxicology and environmental chemistry, from his home office in near the University of York in England.
Freshwater’s Carrie Jennings and some dedicated volunteer* scientists have spent several Fridays this spring collecting background data on soil in a conventionally farmed field that will be converted to regenerative practices.
A Q&A with Chris Lundeen of Clean Lakes MN
Not many of you choose to follow the legislative session as closely as we do, so you may want some analogies to help understand where we find ourselves now.
The DNR Hydrologic Conditions Report is out for April and it confirms what gardeners, farmers and those with lawns already know: This spring has been unusually dry, with some areas more than three inches short on rain.
St. Paul, MN—As the Minnesota Legislature heads into the final stretch of the 2021 legislative session, millions of dollars for environment and natural resources spending and issues that have bipartisan support hangs in the balance due to negotiations on the Environment and Natural Resources Omnibus bill. While negotiations are normal part of the legislative process, there are a significant number of differences between the House and Senate bills that threaten to derail issues that have broad support.
Freshwater was able to contribute to the cost of diverter kits, which include a spigot and all other parts needed to convert the donated whiskey/wine barrels to functioning rain barrels. Close to a dozen Minnesota Water Stewards pitched in to help with assembly and talk about the impact rain barrels can have for water and the community.
