By Rep. Mark Anderson
Citizens throughout the state, including locally, are frustrated after receiving word the Department of Natural Resources is scaling back a competitive grant program designed to control curly-leaf pondweed, Eurasian watermilfoil and flowering lush.
Here is a quick overview:
The decision to reduce funding for the grant program was an internal DNR decision in order to fill a $400,000 shortfall. This not a matter of the DNR compensating for a funding reduction in the new state budget, rather a problem the DNR created itself two ways. First, the DNR spent one-time money to create four new full-time positions. In addition, the Legislature produced, and Gov. Mark Dayton signed, a Natural Resources and Environmental budget bill that did not include raising the registration fees on boats that the Aquatic Invasive Species account is funded from on an annual basis.
The bottom line is the DNR decided to reduce AIS grant funding to remedy the personnel payroll problem it created itself. Instead of focusing on enforcement, training, and education activities, not to mention any other new efficiencies, the DNR decided to reduce funding for this program.
The Legislature did increase from $4.5 million (2014 funding) to $10 million per year county aid for AIS programs. However, those dollars do not come to the counties via the DNR's AIS fund, rather they are sent to the counties directly from the Department of Revenue as part of local government aid to be administered by the counties for AIS management activities. Crow Wing County received $450,473 dollars in 2015 and will receive $448,676 in 2016.
I, along with most other rural legislators, supported increasing AIS funding. Not everyone on either side of the aisle supported doing that. Rep. Josh Heintzeman, whose district includes the White Fish Chain and the Gull Lake Area, and I went directly to key committee chairs and House leadership, explaining the importance of that $10 million per year funding that would go to the counties. I know lake associations are able to access those dollars with little or no red tape, however, I also understand those dollars do not make up the bulk of the dollars associations spend on milfoil control; that is the AIS account grant dollars.
Again, this is not a matter of restoring a funding cut, rather it is the result of an internal decision by the DNR. I will continue to watch closely how the DNR spends taxpayer dollars. While it is not appropriate tor the Legislature to decide exactly what staff positions the DNR can have, it may be necessary in the future to specifically prohibit the use of any one-time funding dollars for the creation of any staff positions.
I continue to support funding AIS programs that get the resources down to the level where they do the most good. Constituents are encouraged to reach out to their county/lake association to see if there are any local grants available for management activities to supplant the previous funding sources.
It is important to ensure AIS funding is being put to best use. The DNR has gained the reputation of being an agency of "no" and my sincere hope is we can work together to shake that stereotype and create more positive, productive relationships. There have been laudable recent developments regarding aeration permits on Gull Lake, so there's a start.
More challenges exist throughout the state and it will take public openness and an active public to find solutions.
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