You can pass into law the greatest policy in the world, but in the end its success depends on good implementation. Exhibit A: When the “Livestock Investment Grants Program” was passed during the last legislative session, it showed that at least on paper Minnesota was serious about helping farmers of all types who need a little help tweaking their operations here and there in order to increase efficiency, profitability and environmental sustainability. LSP and other groups were even successful in making sure that farmers making improvements to grazing operations could obtain funds, and that low cost projects could qualify. But on July 1, when the Minnesota Department of Agriculture announced it was accepting applications, it became clear that this wasn’t your Legislature’s Livestock Investment Grants Program anymore. The MDA has developed qualification criteria that skew the program towards larger operators that may have existing environmental problems. As the criteria read now, a small- or medium-sized family farm using sustainable production systems to maintain current environmental excellence is less likely to qualify. This was not the intention of the original legislation. Read the rest of this entry »

By Rachel Wilf, MEP Civic Engagement Project Intern

On June 13th I traveled in a minivan for four and a half hours through the rolling hills of northern Minnesota. The destination? The White Earth Pow Wow in White Earth, MN. The goal of the MEP field team? Register 40 voters for the upcoming election. Read the rest of this entry »

By Elena Velkov, media relations coordinator, Fresh Energy

Metro area residents who use transit on a regular basis can see increased ridership with their own eyes. More people frequent the bus stops, bodies pack the buses during rush hour, and the crowds sometimes force people to stand. When I was one of a dozen people standing on the bus ride home last week, I asked my co-worker and fellow transit rider what happened. She put it well, saying, “Four dollar gas happened.” Read the rest of this entry »

When Ron Bowen planted his first prairie for a landowner over three decades ago, the client’s motivation was pretty clear. “The main question was, ‘Is it pretty?’ It was an ornamental prairie,” recalls Bowen, the founder and owner of Minnesota-based Prairie Restorations, Inc. But Bowen knew the benefits of prairie ecosystems were more than skin deep. They provide wildlife habitat, build soil, help keep contaminants out of water, fix nitrogen and, as it’s become clear in recent years, trap carbon. If people were willing to get a prairie system established on their land because it gussied up the landscape, so be it. All the hidden benefits would come along for the ride. But an ecosystem’s good looks can only take it so far in a world where competing interests for land are increasing sharply. To evolve beyond an odd planting here and there to a major part of the landscape, it has to earn its own way economically. That’s why Bowen and other prairie enthusiasts are pleased to see in recent years a keen interest in “functional restoration”— establishment of prairies to provide numerous services to society, including things like stabilization of lakeshores or hunting habitat for pheasants. And they are even more excited by the latest task prairies are being asked to perform: serve as a source of biomass energy. Read the rest of this entry »

By Diana Calla, communications intern, Fresh Energy

As a native and lifelong resident of New England, my summer with Fresh Energy marks my first foray into the Midwest. Thus, you can imagine the novelty of my experience, and to some extent, culture shock, as I write today in Bismarck, North Dakota. Read the rest of this entry »

Great news for Minnesota and the Great Lakes! The Great Lakes Compact has nearly passed its last hurdle. The eighth and final state legislature approved the Compact last Thursday. Signatures by Pennsylvania’s and Michigan’s Governors will complete the ratification process by all participating states and Canadian provinces. Now the next move is for Congress to enact the Compact into law. Read the rest of this entry »

With the news last week of the two final Great Lakes states passing the Compact (the governors of MI and PA are expected to sign it after lawmakers recently passed it in both states), it seems that the final showdown over the agreement has now moved to Congress.

But before we all turn our full attention to congressional ratification of the Great Lakes Compact, we should check in on the oil drilling debate. Read the rest of this entry »

Next week Ken Meter will be in western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, telling the story of how feeding the raw commodity maw has drained our Main Streets of their lifeblood while decimating the rural landscape socially and environmentally. Meter’s story stars numbers, charts, graphs and trend-lines—not exactly the stuff of summer blockbusters. But believe me, once you sit through one of this researcher’s presentations, you’ll never view rural economic development the same way again. You can get a taste of his insights by listening to LSP’s latest Ear to the Ground podcast (episode 51) or checking out the website of the Crossroads Resource Center, the organization Meter heads up. Take it from a confirmed numbersphobe, his analysis of the data is quite accessible—and well worth your time. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kate Ellis, 1Sky Minnesota organizer, Fresh Energy

Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes…and environmental groups too, it seems! My best, non-scientific estimation is that Minnesota has over 200 groups that are in some way doing their part to fight for the environment. Whether it is clean water issues, faith responsibility, energy, gardening, wildlife, or any of the other myriad groups involved in environmental protection, we in Minnesota have perfected the art of organizing for the environment. Read the rest of this entry »

Conservation Minnesota’s new website Check My Lake continues to shine a light on the state of Minnesota’s water quality. Read the rest of this entry »