Minnesota Trout Unlimited 4-30-2023 The Minnesota Senate passed a bill including a requirement that state agencies identify the statutes and rules that should be changed to prevent fish kills in Southeast MN. This provision was rolled into the large Environment Omnibus bill HF2310. However, the House version of the bill does not contain...
Minnesota Trout Unlimited 2-16-2023 After nearly 7 months, the state agencies investigating the Rush Creek fish kill today suggested that rainfall is likely to blame for killing over 2,500 fish. Nonsense. It rains regularly across the state and our rivers are not constantly filled with dead fish. Human actions in...
January 2023 Public Access – Permanent DNR easements along streams ensure fishing access, the ability to restore habitat, and protection of riparian corridors. Loss of “informal” access is accelerating. Substantially increased funding is needed now to seize generational opportunities before lands are sold and subdivided, or posted. Better signage and policy...
While differences between the House, Senate, and Governor over the state budget have increased thelikelihood of a special session, the Legacy bill relies on dedicated revenues and can still be passed by theend of the regular session on May 17—with or without a budget agreement. Dedicated funding toprotect and restore...
DNR to Cut 90% of AMAs on North Shore Under the DNR’s proposed “Sustainable Timber Harvest Analysis” plan, the DNR intends to harvest trees from 90% of the land the Fisheries Section owns along trout and steelhead rivers in Lake County. This includes riparian forests along premier rivers such as the...
A key meeting to consider nitrate-contaminated groundwater and trout streams in the karst region of southeast Minnesota (MN’s portion of the Driftless area) will be held Monday March 25, 2019 in Red Wing, MN beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) will hold a public meeting that...
The MPCA has denied a general permit to the proposed feedlot near Newburg and Wisel Creeks in Fillmore County. This temporary reprieve for the groundwater and trout streams in the vicinity is welcome news. Below is the announcement from MPCA. While denial of the general permit is a big deal and...
One of the bills which passed in the final hours of the MN legislative session was a bonding bill to which the LCCMR/ENRTF bill was amended. The bill includes a raid on funds in the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), which are constitutionally dedicated for environmental purposes. Here...
The MN Legislature session ends in one week. It has been a strange session with few bills passed and instead a monster “omnibus omnibus” bill which plods forward. It contains environmental policy provisions. Since the Senate and House versions of this bill differ, the bill is in a conference committee...
Policy decisions by the MN Legislature decide the health and persistence of coldwater fisheries around Minnesota and in Lake Superior. Speaking up for clean water and coldwater fisheries is vital to ensuing places for us, our children and our friends to enjoy quality trout, steelhead and salmon fishing in the...
