Pine County Projects

This listing is produced by the Minnesota State Lottery from information provided by project managers and the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources. While we attempt to provide the most current information, specific project locations and allocations do change. Information on projects for the current biennium, in particular, should be regarded as preliminary.

Soil Survey – 2005-07 biennium. The Board of Soil and Water Resources will use this appropriation from the Trust Fund to make information on soils available in electronic form and for new soil surveys in Crow Wing and Pine counties.

Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality Initiative - 1999-01 biennium. This Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) program helped lakeshore homeowners learn how to use native plants on the shoreline and in the water to enhance wildlife habitat and improve water quality in their lake. With assistance from the Minnesota Lakes Association, the DNR conducted a series of workshops for property owners and constructed demonstration sites throughout the state. In Pine County, a workshop was held on June 3, 2000, in Sandstone.

Local Initiatives Grants Program - 1999-01 biennium. Appropriations from the Trust Fund for this project allowed the Department of Natural Resources to fund the Natural and Scenic Area Grants Program, the Conservation Partners Grants Program and the Environmental Partnerships Grants Program during the biennium. More than 140 different projects across the state were approved for matching grants from July of 1999 through June of 2001. In Pine County, the Pine County Soil and Water Conservation District received a grant to help the Pine Lake Town Board to identify, evaluate and educate owners of individual sewage treatment systems to help protect and improve the water quality of eight lakes and two rivers.

Management and Restoration of Natural Plant Communities on State Trails - 1999-01 biennium. This Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) project will enhance the ecological value and contribute to the sustainability of the native landscape, heighten the quality of the recreation experience and foster environmental stewardship and education. In Pine County, Minnesota Native Landscapes, LLC of Foley, won the contract to conduct a controlled burn of about 35 acres along the Willard Munger State Trail between Willow River and Rutledge. The DNR reports that weather conditions were good on May 16, 2001, and that the burn was successful.

Mussel Resource Survey - 1999-01 biennium. During the first two years of this project (this biennium), biologists and other staff from the Department of Natural Resources sampled 886 sites in 32 Minnesota rivers, 64 tributaries and 12 lakes including two sites on Bear Creek, one site on the South Fork of the Grindstone River, two sites on the North Fork of the Grindstone River, three sites on the Grindstone River, one site on Grindstone Lake, four sites on Hay Creek, six sites on Pine River, two sites on Sand Creek, 11 sites on the Snake River, two sites on Cross Lake, five sites on Pokegama Lake, one site on the St. Croix River, 12 sites on the Tamarack River and four sites on the Willow River in Pine County during July and August of 1999, June and August of 2000 and May and August of 2001. According to the website for this project, http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecological_services/nhnrp/mussel_survey/index.html, freshwater mussels, commonly called clams, occur throughout the world but reach their greatest diversity in North America where about 300 species are found. Unfortunately, within the last 100 years mussel communities have declined in abundance and diversity due to dam construction, stream channelization, water pollution and sedimentation, over harvesting and the recent introduction of the exotic Zebra Mussel. In response, groups such as the American Fisheries Society and The Nature Conservancy have identified mussels as the most imperiled group of animals in North America. The primary goal of this project is to build the information base necessary to sustain freshwater mussels in Minnesota. Building this base of information is expected to take about six years to complete.

State Park and Recreation Area Acquisition, Development, Betterment and Rehabilitation – 1999-01 biennium. This project provided funds to acquire 155 acres of critical private land within the current boundaries of six state parks - 11 acres at Fort Snelling in Hennepin and Dakota Counties, 2 acres at Frontenac in Goodhue County, 11 acres at Moose Lake in Carlton County, 10 acres at Nerstrand Big Woods in Rice County, 81 acres at Sibley in Kandiyohi County and 40 acres at Whitewater in Winona County. This project also provided development funds for a municipal sewer connection at Banning State Park in Pine County, design funding for the new visitor center at Forestville Mystery Cave State Park in Fillmore County and a portion of the development cost for the Itasca Suites guest lodging at Itasca State Park in Clearwater County.

Teacher Training in Interdisciplinary Environmental Education - 1999-01 biennium. The Audubon Center of the North Woods, located on Grindstone Lake just west of Sandstone, used this appropriation to develop and conduct workshops for 188 Minnesota elementary and high school teachers during 1999, 2000 and 2001. The focus of the workshops was to give teachers the tools for integrating interdisciplinary environmental education lessons and activities into their classroom curriculum. If you want to learn more about the Audubon Center of the North Woods, visit www.audubon-center.org.

Tools and Training for Community-Based Planning - 1999-01 biennium with an extension until June 30, 2002. The State Planning Agency used this appropriation to develop computer software and train staff from regional development commissions and county planning and zoning offices in its use. The software, named EPICplanner, is designed to be an easy to use geographic information system and is available without cost to help local units of government map and plan their growth by showing jurisdiction, landscape, soils and infrastructure information. According to the project manager, the five pilot counties - Cook, Hubbard, Lake, LeSueur and Pine - were critical in identifying the desired decision-analysis tools and testing the product.

Tracking Sources of Fecal Pollution Using DNA Techniques - 1999-01 biennium. Elevated levels of fecal bacteria are found in many watersheds due to inadequate septic systems, runoff from pastures, manure treated agricultural land and wildlife. University of Minnesota scientists are working to discover an effective way of identifying the source of E. coli bacteria in samples drawn from the Rush River in Sibley County, the Grindstone River in Pine County, Prairie Creek in Rice County and the Mississippi River above Lock and Dam #1 in Hennepin County. To find out more about this project, visit www.ecolirep.umn.edu.

Minnesota County Biological Survey - 1999-01 biennium, 1997-99 biennium, 1995-97 biennium and 1993-95 biennium. Since 1987, the Department of Natural Resources has been collecting information on plants and animals throughout Minnesota to identify the location of natural areas and rare plants and animals. This information is being collected on a county-by-county basis and will be used to better manage areas that have native species of plants and animals. Survey work in Pine County began during the 1993-95 biennium and was completed in the 1999-01 biennium.

Minnesota’s Forest Bird Diversity Initiative - 1999-01 biennium, 1997-99 biennium, 1995-97 biennium, 1993-95 biennium and 1991-93 biennium. Forest birds are key indicators of the health of Minnesota’s forest ecosystem. To address concerns of forest sustainability, the Department of Natural Resources and the Natural Resources Research Institute (at the University of Minnesota, Duluth) launched Minnesota’s Forest Bird Diversity Initiative in 1991. The Initiative’s goal is to develop landscape management tools to maintain the state’s unique diversity of forest birds through long-term monitoring of bird populations, research, modeling and education. This Initiative relies on more than 1,600 bird count locations in Beltrami, Carlton, Cass, Cook, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, Mille Lacs, Olmsted, Pine, Rice, St. Louis, Wabasha and Winona Counties. For more information about this project, including other sponsors, visit www.nrri.umn.edu/mnbirds.

Minnesota Rare Mussel Conservation - 1997-99 biennium. This University of Minnesota project establishes and monitors refugia in the St. Croix River to improve freshwater mussel conservation and to protect them from invading Zebra Mussels. In Pine County, relocating mussels and mussel life history research will take place in the St. Croix River.

Snake River Watershed Best Management Practices - 1997-99 biennium. The Snake River Watershed Management Board will accelerate the implementation of action items from the 1996 Snake River Watershed Management Plan. By applying best management practices to utilize a systematic plan to prioritize projects on impact on the water quality, available money will be used on projects with the greatest results. This has included constructing livestock ponds, stabilizing eroding stream banks and limiting contaminated run-off reaching the watershed.

State Park and Recreation Area Acquisition - 1995-97 biennium. The Department of Natural Resources is buying privately-owned land within state park and recreation boundaries to avoid losing substantial natural and cultural resources. Under this program, 51 acres were added to Banning State Park.
State Park and Recreation Area Acquisition, Development and Rehabilitation - 1995-97 biennium. This project is for the acquisition of new land for state parks and to develop and rehabilitate existing state parks. Campground rehabilitation was done at St. Croix State Park. Lead agency: Department of Natural Resources.

RIM Wildlife Habitat Stewardship - 1993-95 biennium. About 29,000 acres of state land is being developed and improved to protect wildlife and native plants. The Department of Natural Resources is restoring prairies, brush land, forests and non-game habitat while planting and managing native vegetation to enhance hunting, observing nature and education. In Pine County, the grant was used for brushland development.