Happening

Conservation Minnesota convenes a conference of environment commission members from across Minnesota each year. Environment commissioners from 15 cities came together in Minnetonka on May 20th to make connections, discuss challenges, and share ideas on how to act on conservation at the local level.

This legislative session brought some of our largest victories ever, and while there is always more to do, we couldn’t be more excited by what we accomplished together this year. 

The Hmong community has a rich agricultural heritage. Without their contributions, local markets would see less small-scale sustainable farming, affordable fresh produce, and culturally relevant foods. Despite this, many Hmong farmers and other farmers of color face disadvantages and struggle to find their footing among an agricultural system built for generations around White farmers.

Today, the Governor Walz will sign the bipartisan lead drinking water replacement bill. The bill dedicates $240 million to the inventory and replacement of dangerous lead service lines and creates a goal to replace all lead pipes in the next ten years. It’s a momentous step toward protecting Minnesota kids from toxic lead exposure.

Students from our youth program, Conservation Crew, are organizing for change through garbage cleanups, compost fundraisers, pollinator gardens, and much more. This year for Earth Day, we are highlighting the inspiring work of some local students.

News from the Crew is the newsletter for our youth program, Conservation Crew. Learn what the Crews are up to, in the spring of the program's second year.

Last week, Policy Director Nels Paulsen presented the House Ways and Means Committee with the following letter of support for the passing of HF 1656. This bill would help secure federal funding for energy projects across the state. 

We are dedicating this issue of our newsletter to highlighting all that lottery funding has done for Minnesotans and what legislators and voters need to do to ensure this critical funding doesn’t disappear after 2024.

In January, the US Department of the Interior announced a 20-year moratorium of sulfide-ore copper mining on 225,000 acres of land near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA), but this moratorium can be overturned by future presidential administrations. We need to continue to push for permanent protections for the BWCA and the surrounding area, both locally and nationally. 

Together with Minnesota’s conservation community, Policy Director Nels Paulsen presented the Senate Environment, Climate and Legacy committee with the following letter of support a bill that supports essential projects around the state that restore, protect, and enhance wetlands, prairies, forests, and habitat for fish, game, and wildlife through the Outdoor Heritage Fund.