1995-10-26_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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Envirothon con't the first. week of August. This five-day event has teaming stations similar to the state Envirothon, but also has an "oral presentation" section on a topic to be announced at the event. About 30 teams are expected at the national Envirothon. The team only needs to pay for its own transportation to the national Envirothon; once they get there, food and lodging are covered. So far, the team has had donations from many sources, including each area employees asso- ciation (with a larger donation from the Area I association) and the Minnesota Associa- tion of Conservation District Employees; the Board of Water and Soil Resources; the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts; and the Pennington Soil and Water Conservation District.. The team anticipates that they will be able to raise enough money to meet their needs. Special thanks for the state Envirothon go to the MASWCD Auxiliary for their $500 sponsorship; and to Northrup King for their dona- tion. The Envirothon picked up steam this year statewide, with participation increasing to more than 1000 students. All seven SWCD areas held Envirothons; participation ranged from 70 to 370 stu- dents per area. Costs per area ranged from $840 to $2200; most dollars came from local businesses, the SWCDs, area employees associations, and the BWSR. The following area coordina- tors deserve a great deal of credit for this success: Cheryl Sistad (Marshall-Beltrami SWCD) and Vicki Miller (Norman SWCD); Miki Sanvig, Pope SWCD; Mary Ann Mills, Pine SWCD; Felicia Brockoff, Carver SWCD, and staff from the Dakota SWCD; Terry Wittnebel, Lac qui Parle SWCD; Michelle Stindtman, Faribault SWCD; and Sue Condon, Steele SWCD. These people had help from many others!! Fillmore con't contour strips, and removal of some land from production-- he doesn't want to sign an agreement with the SWCD, Brekke said. Matt Opat, assistant Fillmore County attorney, pointed out that the ordinance's constitu- tionality was only an issue because the case was pur- sued as a criminal case, meaning that the defendant could serve jail time. In cases pursued as civil cases-- meaning that jail time is not a possibility--constitutionality is not called into question. Many similar ordinances in other counties would probably not be pursued as criminal cases. The ruling resulted in the Fillmore Planning and Zoning Commission meeting in June to consider revising the ordinance. Under the revision they are considering, said Brekke, the law would be more flexible and only require that the landowner comply with T if he or she has not made significant efforts toward improvement within three years of the original citation. Landowners that are cooperative initially must only install new waterways and repair existing waterways. Although it will increase his workload because he will have to check back with a landowner over a number of years, Brekke said he hopes the new ordinance is ap- proved. Asmart landowner would take care of the prob- lem right away and avoid future difficulties, he said. Mower con't district expanded its educa- tional efforts by producing a quarterly newsletter with the county and the Minnesota Extension Service, Nordby said. The first issue of the newsletter went out this past spring to every rural resident in the county, she said. Although the ordinance has not stirred much controversy in Mower County, Nordby said it will be interesting to see what happens when land begins to come out of the Conservation Reserve Pro- gram (CRP) in two years. After that, the local regulation will affect many more people, she said. 3