1999-01-28_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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3. Comprehensive Local Water Planning Program Plan: Slightly more than a year ago, a focus group of Local Water Planners convened and agreed to help BWSR prepare a program plan. The main purpose of the plan is to identify and communicate important information such as the program's strengths and challenges and initiative that are important to pursue in the next five years to ensure a successful future for local water planning. Participation in development of the plan was accomplished through the water planners focus group and distribution of the draft plan to all water planners at the 1998 summer conference. Agency participation in tl-~~ plan was through the agency water planning technical representatives, who were responsible for coordinating the review and comment of the program plan within their respective agency. DECISION 4. Proposal to Award $450,000 in Grants to SWCD's in the Minnesota River Basin for Locally Administering the Conservation Reservation Enhancement Program: See attached. DECISION 5. Board Member Recognition (Barb Uppgaard, Lee Coe, Marv Tripp): INFORMATION 6. Living Snow Fence Allocations: The 1998 legislature appropriated $100,000 to BWSR for a pilot grant program to establish living snow fences. Living snow fences are site specifically designed vegetative barriers which are planted and maintained to control snow deposition. These grants are to be allocated to SWCDs. The Interagency Living Snow Fence Task Force has provided this funding reconunendation. DECISION 7. Living Snow Fence Committee Recognition:Minnesota interagency Living Snow Fence Task Force was established as an outgrowth of the 1996-97 Snow Disaster Declaration. The purpose of the Task Force was to develop a hazard mitigation concept paper on the use of Living Snow Fence and community shelterbelts to reduce the impact of drifting snow. The committee's effort included conducting a Living Snow Fence Symposium in the fall of 1997; development of a Living Snow Fence guidebook; instrumental in securing several million dollars of mitigation monies for Living Snow Fence implementation. The committee continues to provide oversight of implementation of mitigation recommendation. We acknowledge the Task Force's past and continuing efforts. INFORMATION 8. Grants to Red Lake and Wild Rice Watershed Districts for Professional and Technical Services Related to Acquisition of Pilot Flood Storage Easements: The 1998 legislature earmarked 5250,000 of the BWSR conservation easement appropriations for a flood storage easements pilot program. The appropriation language required at least two local government units to participate. The Red Lake and Wild Rice Watershed Districts were selected and are working with BWSR staff to develop pilot proposals that will be presented to the board for approval in early 1999. The pilot program language permitted up to 10% of the appropriation to be used for professional and technical services related to acquisition of the easements. The pilot watershed districts are ready to assist with preliminary site identification and technical assessments for pilot program development and implementation. Staff recommend that grants in the amount of 510,000 each be