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The Conservation Mentor
<br />is een a annex ear .e ei vest
<br />i es ( ~) ese _ e
<br />by Scott Nichols
<br />Lately the program has celebrated its
<br />ten-year anniversary, been modi fled
<br />'and improved by the legislature, and
<br />been a contributor to one of the
<br />- largest lake restorations in the state
<br />(see Grass Lake article, p. 1).
<br />And now the RIM Reserve has
<br />,. -achieved regional recognition in the
<br />form'ofthe Pintail Award; given
<br />. .each year by the Prairie Pothole
<br />Joint Venture (PPJV):
<br />The PPJV is one oftwelve habitat
<br />joint ventures in North America
<br />created under the North American
<br />Waterfowl Management Plan, an
<br />international effort befween Mexico,
<br />Canada and the U.S: to increase
<br />declining waterfowl populations and
<br />habitat. Of highest priority are the
<br />mideontinent prairie breeding
<br />grounds, of which the PPJV is a
<br />part, according to Carol Lively,
<br />coordinator for th_e Prairie Pothole
<br />Joint Venture. ,
<br />"This is where waterfowl are
<br />produced for~the continent. There are
<br />other areas where waterfowl produc-
<br />tion occurs, but this is really the -
<br />focus area, the prairie breeding
<br />grounds," said Lively. ~ ,
<br />The RIM Reserve ',
<br />A 1984 citizen's commission on
<br />hunting and. fishing in Minnesota
<br />recommended that sales~tax
<br />revenue generated from the state's
<br />billion dollar outdoor recreation
<br />industry, be reinvested in the state
<br />resources that sustain such '
<br />activities. .
<br />From this recommendation came
<br />the 1986 Reinvest in Minnesota
<br />(RIM) legislation, including the
<br />RIM Reserve program. The RIM
<br />Reserve retires or restores
<br />previously drained wetlands, or.
<br />retires marginal agricultural
<br />lands from crop production via
<br />conservation easements.
<br />The PPJV stretches across portions
<br />of five states-Minnesota, Iowa,
<br />North and South Dakota and Mon- .
<br />tana. Because of the PPJV's size and
<br />the number of conservation organiza-
<br />tions within these states, BWSR can '
<br />be especially proud for winning the
<br />PPJV award. said Lively.
<br />"The type of things that we're
<br />looking for are not just-organizations
<br />doing good things on the land, but
<br />also usingtheir contacts, the partner-
<br />ship angle, to inform and educate
<br />other people about new ways of ,
<br />doing business, new kinds o£..
<br />habitat conservation messages," she
<br />said. ~ .
<br />Barbara Cobb, chair of the Board of
<br />.Water and Soil Resources (BWSR),
<br />.which administers the RIM Reserve
<br />;program on the state level, accepted
<br />the Pintail Award from PPJV repre-
<br />sentative Bill Hartwig during the
<br />BWSR's April board meeting.
<br />The program is administered on a
<br />statewide.level by the BWSR and
<br />locally by area soil and water
<br />conservation districts (SWCDs). ,
<br />Funding for the program has re-
<br />mained steady in recent years, but
<br />has not been able to keep pace with_
<br />the demand for the program.
<br />"Historically, we've had about three
<br />times the demand by landowners to
<br />enter into conservation easements
<br />than we've had state money avail-.
<br />able," said Tim Fredbo, administra-
<br />for ofthe RIl~ Reserve for the ,
<br />BWSR in St. Paal.-"The RIM
<br />Reserve has always operated on
<br />limited funding, which has made
<br />contributions by private, local and.
<br />federal sources critical to the
<br />program's success. B WSR's receipt
<br />of this PPJV award is a tribute to the
<br />organizations and. individuals which
<br />have cbntributed to RIM Reserve
<br />projects, and to the many SWCDs
<br />which implement the program
<br />locally."
<br />s fives its first ~~
<br />.legal challenge ,
<br />In a decision assistant attorney -
<br />• general Matt Seltzer says is a "clear .
<br />signal" that the Wetlands Conserva- --
<br />tion Act (WCA) must be enforced,
<br />the Minnesota-Court of Appeals has
<br />affirmed a district court's ruling that
<br />WCA implementation does not
<br />result in a taking of property.
<br />According to Board of Water and
<br />-Soil Resources Executive Director
<br />Ron Harnack, the decision by the
<br />Appeals Court shows that the WCA -
<br />is able to equitably apply the `no net
<br />loss of wetlands' standards..
<br />"The amount of cooperation and
<br />involvement in crafting the WCA by
<br />the public, by outdoors groups, and'
<br />by the legislature and the governor
<br />has been phenomenal," said.
<br />Harnack. "That all these disparate
<br />groups can come to a consensus on
<br />what is`good for Minnesota and ifs
<br />wetlands should say something
<br />about the WCA's viability. The
<br />people who envisioriecl the Act were
<br />very careful to balance individual .
<br />rights with societal needs."
<br />One of the best ways the act does
<br />this`is through the creation of the
<br />-Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP),
<br />said John Jaschke; wetlands man-
<br />agement specialist for BWSR.
<br />"One ofth~e invaluable functions of
<br />the TEP is not just to serve.as the
<br />technical resource for wetlands
<br />projects, but to open up avenues of
<br />_ communication between a project's
<br />participants," said Jaschke. "The
<br />combination of staff and expertise is
<br />a great way to accurately assess the. _
<br />• legal and fechnical issues of a ,
<br />project, and. to avoid any possible
<br />misunderstandings." ,
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