Before we share the news we had planned for this week, we want to pause to acknowledge the recent political violence that occurred in Minnesota. Audubon grieves with Minnesota. Our staff works closely with lawmakers and are devastated for the families, friends, and broader community of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Hoffman, both of whom have been strong champions for the environment.
This year, the Minnesota legislature passed several major bipartisan environmental funding bills. First, during the regular session, legislators passed the Legacy bill. Supported by a portion of Minnesota sales tax, the Legacy bill included ongoing funding for Audubon Upper Mississippi River’s habitat restoration work in northwest Minnesota via the Outdoor Heritage Fund. Thank you to Governor Walz, who immediately signed this bill.
Unfortunately, the Legislature did not finish all of their business before the constitutionally mandated adjournment date. In late May, they adjourned without agreeing on a number of major budget bills, including the environment budget. While this was not an entirely unexpected outcome, it did force a special session to avoid a government shutdown.
During the one-day special session, lawmakers passed appropriations for the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), which was supported by a vast majority of Minnesota voters last November. While Audubon works on ENRTF funding bills every session, this one was particularly special. The ENRTF funding bill is comprised of a collection of important environmental projects vetted through the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota’s Resources. This year’s appropriation includes $103.3 million in funding for more than 100 projects including funding for the Audubon Upper Mississippi River project to run the next iteration of statewide marshbird surveys, providing critical data towards conservation needs for this elusive suite of birds.
It also includes $28 million in new funding for the Community Grants program, a program Audubon has spent years working with partners to create, in order to make funds more accessible to smaller organizations such as Audubon chapters. A portion of Community Grants funding may also be used for trail maintenance and improvement and aquatic invasive species management.
It took a great deal of bipartisanship from the Environment Chairs, Sen. Hawj, Rep. Heintzeman, Rep. Fischer, and your grassroots efforts to get the Community Grants passed through the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Walz.
We are grateful that Audubon members across Minnesota are willing and ready to act for our extraordinary environment! If you would like to receive action alerts, please sign up here:
