LCCMR projects approved

The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources receives annual funding from state lottery sales that is distributed to grantees for environmental projects. Commission recommendations form the basis of a bill after requests for proposals are vetted through hours of hearings and peer review.

HF2624, sponsored by Rep. Jean Wagenius (DFL-Mpls), would appropriate $26 million this biennium, primarily from the lottery’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. The House Environment and Natural Resources Finance Division approved the bill Feb. 11 and referred it to the House Finance Committee. A companion bill, SF2462, sponsored by Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul), is scheduled to be heard Feb. 16 by the Senate Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Budget Division.

Eighty-five finalists totaling $168 million in projects vied for the trust funds. Of those, 48 projects totaling $26 million were recommended for inclusion in the bill. They include geological studies, wetland and prairie preservation and restoration, birding publications, wildlife habitat research, land acquisition for parks, invasive species projects and environmental education programs.

Projects cross both rural and urban landscapes, as well as cultural differences. For example, $155,000 is earmarked to advise Hmong families about fish consumption recommendations. The connection between climate change and its impact on the ecosystem would be studied through an agreement with the Will Steger Foundation and a $250,000 grant.

Rep. Denny McNamara (R-Hastings) offered an amendment to the bill, which he later withdrew, because he feels the LCCMR should hold back a percentage of its spending authority for emergencies. He pointed to last year when funding proposals were due May 1. Just days later, the state’s first emerald ash borer was discovered, leaving legislators scrambling to find emergency funding to combat the invasive species.

Wagenius said $6 million has been requested in other bills, including $3 million in the pending bonding bill, to combat emerald ash borer and to protect the state’s black ash trees.