Woods & Water by Dick Herfindahl

 

This past weekend, the local veterans clinic in Albert Lea held its second annual classic car show and motorcycle roll-in-picnic for veterans and their families. It was a great event with free food and beverages, prizes, entertainment for the kids and live music courtesy of the local band Flashback, who did a great job for the second year in a row in entertaining all those who attended. I know the veterans who attended appreciated all of the hard work the workers at the VA and the many volunteers did to make this event a success. Something like this could not take place without the many sponsors who donated to this event. Thanks to everyone for making this great event happen!

If you have ever visited a state park, had a family picnic at a county park or hunted on a WMA (Wildlife Management Area) you may have wondered where the land came from. In the case of county parks, some of that land is donated to the local county by local landowners, some may be purchased but all of that land, once made public, is there for everyone to enjoy. No matter what form of outdoors recreation you may pursue, there is pretty much something for everyone.

 

Owned by you, managed by the DNR

Minnesotans value their state lands and affirmed their support with the passage of the 2008 Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. The DNR manages these lands on behalf of our citizens and continually strives to improve the state’s land portfolio through strategic purchases, sales and exchanges. We do this to ensure the state’s public land base meets the recreation, conservation and economic needs into the future.

 

Backbone of outdoor recreation and tourism

Do you ever wonder what is behind Minnesota’s outdoor culture? Look no further than Minnesota’s 5.6 million acres of state lands that provide space and access to a wide variety of outdoor experiences. This network includes recreational trails for snowmobiling, hiking, biking, skiing and off-road motorized use. Hunters and anglers have access to millions of acres of state hunting lands and waters. For others, state lands offer solitude and beautiful spaces for camping, wildlife watching and photography.

 

Contributing to Minnesota’s economy

State lands generate tourism and recreation equipment spending across the state. State forests provide about 30% of the state’s wood supply for an industry that employs 64,000 people. State-owned mineral royalties generate millions of dollars each year for Minnesota’s Public School and University Trust Funds. The state pays approximately $36 million annually in Payment in Lieu of Taxes (or PILT) to local governments to offset property taxes not collected on state and tax-forfeit lands.

 

Minnesota land ownership

About 24% of Minnesota’s lands are public lands — more than 12 million acres of state, federal and county lands managed on behalf of citizens. The DNR manages 5.6 million acres of state lands — about 11% of Minnesota’s total land area, roughly 1 acre per person.

Minnesota counties manage 2.8 million acres of tax-forfeited state land — about 6% of Minnesota’s total land area.

 

Providing environmental benefits

As the state’s population grows, state lands increasingly play an important environmental role. State lands in the form of forests, prairies and peatlands play important roles in providing clean water and air, carbon sequestration, habitat for pollinators and wildlife and protection of space for rare plants, animals and geologic features.

With all of this being said, the next time you visit a local lake access, picnic at a city or county park, walk or bike a trail, hunt a WMA, drive an ATV trail in northern Minnesota or just sit in a quiet place and enjoy nature, you will know that access to these places is available, in part, because of the bill that you passed in 2008.

Although we seem to be in the middle of what is sometimes referred to as “the dog days” of summer there seems to be plenty of fish being caught. From what I have heard, Pickerel Lake has gone from hot to cold as far as the northern fishing is concerned. This actually seems to have been the pattern for the last couple of years. On the other hand, the fishing on Fountain Lake has been pretty good if you are talking bass and sunfish. In recent years Fountain has become one of the better bass fisheries in the area, if not southern Minnesota. I believe this can also be a good time to latch onto one of those big channel cats that roam the waters of our local lake. Those fish are always fun to catch and do put up quite a fight.

Please remember to keep our troops in your prayers. We must not let ourselves forget those who are still putting themselves in harm’s way so we can enjoy all of the wonderful freedoms we have today.