An environmental and natural resources bill that passed the state Senate on Tuesday includes several measures that will affect Greater Minnesota. A version of the bill previously passed the House and is currently in a conference committee, where differences will be ironed out before the bill is returned to both chambers.
Here are some highlights from the legislation:
Greater Minnesota funds
Several aspects of the bill, authored by Sen. Foung Hawj, DFL-St. Paul, fund outdoor and recreation opportunities. That includes an “Outdoor School for all Minnesota students” grant program, which will give grants to learning centers with outdoor education programs for students grades 4 through 8.
“We’ve got to get our kids outside. Minnesota has some of the best outdoors imaginable in the country. Particularly, I would say in northern Minnesota … we have these great outdoor school opportunities for our kids,” Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, said on the Senate floor.
The bill also invests in all-terrain vehicle infrastructure, setting aside $1.2 million to help St. Louis County construct and maintain the Prospector Loop all-terrain vehicle trail system and $1.5 million in funding for the all-terrain vehicle grant-in-aid program. Advocates for these portions said the funds would help ease the burden of maintenance, which is often partially funded through ATV registrations and a percentage of non-highway gas taxes.
The bill also includes language to reimburse sheriffs for ice search and rescue operations that caused departments to spend above their regular operating budget, something that many agencies in Greater Minnesota, like those in Beltrami and Cass County, struggled with this past year.
Reimbursements are limited to 50% of the reimbursable costs, with the maximum aid set at $5,000 per agency.
Big change for deer hunters
Sen. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, offered an amendment to eliminate southern Minnesota’s shotgun-only hunting zone.
A current state statute prohibits people from using rifles during the regular firearms season in the state’s “shotgun use areas,” which consist of a majority of the state’s southern half.
During the discussion, Drazkowski said Minnesota’s rifle restrictions are outdated, noting that Minnesota is one of three remaining states with such laws. Drazkowski’s amendment had support from Sen. Andrew Lang, R-Olivia, and Hauschild, among others. It passed 34-32.
The bill would require the commissioner of natural resources to create a report on the effect of eliminating the shotgun zone on deer hunting and deer populations by December 2027 and to assess any policy changes that may be needed.
The House language would end the shotgun mandate across most of southern Minnesota but keep it in place for Blue Earth, Dodge, Freeborn, Mower, Nicollet and Olmsted counties. The current language being discussed in the conference committee leaves it in place for those counties but allows them to elect not to be included in the “shotgun use area.”
Farming restrictions
Some legislators, like Rep. Steven Jacob, R-Altura, were not happy with a portion of the House version that would end commercial production of corn on land that is owned by the state. That law would go into effect in January, and current corn production leases on state land would end.
Both the Senate and House versions of the bill would end the planting of corn on state-owned lands.
The bill also sets aside $2 million for manure management grants, focused on areas with high groundwater nitrate levels or vulnerable geology, like those in the southeastern part of the state. Funded activities could include projects that limit agricultural activity on vulnerable land, and recipients of the grants must operate at fewer than 1,000 animal units.
The House bill includes language that would require an environmental impact statement to be done when constructing an animal feedlot facility with a capacity of 10,000 or more animal units or expanding a facility that already has that capacity.
Land to tribes
The bill also includes language requiring county auditors to offer land for sale within reservation boundaries to the Indian reservation first. If an offer is made, the county auditor would be required to accept it if it’s equal to or more than the appraised value.
The commissioner of natural resources must also submit a report on how the Department of Natural Resource’s Strategic Land Asset Management program approaches potential transfers of land to tribal nations, which would include potential opportunities for land transfer.
“I would like to say how much I appreciate the opportunity to begin discussions about returning some of these lands that have been taken from our tribal nations, returning them back to the stewardship and the sovereignty of the nations,” Sen. Mary Kunesh said on the floor. A portion of the bill authorizes the state to transfer ownership of some parcels in Mille Lacs to tribal ownership.
Ava Kian
Ava Kian is MinnPost’s Greater Minnesota reporter. Follow her on Twitter @kian_ava or email her at akian@minnpost.com.
