June 12, 2006

Can you hear Minnesota calling?

She's only five years old but she gives me reason for hope. And regret.

One recent evening she was happily helping her grandmother pick maple tree seeds from flower containers. Her grandmother plucked a seed with a root attached and handed it to the little girl. For a long while she sat mesmerized, earnestly studying the marvel in her hands.

When I dig in the garden, she's underfoot, searching the dirt for anything that moves. She excitedly discovered a millipede once, promptly named it Millie, then cried when she lost it in the grass. I'm running out of containers to hold her collections of snails, frogs, butterflies and worms. She examines the game birds I bring home with the thoroughness of a pathologist.

She's just a little kid but she gives me hope because she is proof that nature has not lost her ability to amaze and engross. The regret is that we have treated it with such disrespect. When we pass it on the little kids of today, will it be better or worse?

Many of Minnesota's lakes, rivers, forests, prairies and wetlands have been sliding downhill for years. It's not the first time in Minnesota's history that our natural resources have been in trouble. Previous generations, however, rose to the challenge. As one example, our northern forests were nearly exhausted by the late 1800's. In response, citizens and civic organizations banded together and created the nation's first congressionally authorized national forest - the Chippewa National Forest.

Minnesota can be proud of the way previous generations stepped to the plate to respond to natural resource threats. Today, the need to continue that proud heritage has never been more urgent.

If the trees, water and prairie could talk, they would not speak kindly of how they have been treated. Instead, concerned people must speak for them, hopeful that others will listen. The Minnesota Campaign for Conservation, a coalition of concerned citizens and organizations, is doing just that. And while what they have to say is alarming, they also offer hope.

In a report entitled "Minnesota Calling: Conservation Facts, Trends and Challenges" the case is made that "The very things we love best about this state are under threat as never before."

Organizers of the campaign are intent on developing and funding long-term conservation strategies to combat those threats. To do that, it will first be necessary for Minnesota citizens to understand that this is not Chicken Little screaming about a falling sky. And then to cultivate a public will to follow in the footsteps of previous generations over the past 150 years and do something about it.

Consider the following from the report:

· Population growth poses the greatest challenge to our state's natural resources. It is projected that by 2030, Minnesota will have nearly 2.5 million more people than it had in 1970. As the population increases, so do the pressures on already stressed natural resources.

· Between 1982 and 1992, Minnesota lost 23,400 acres per year to development. From 1992 to 1997, the rate jumped to 46,400 acres per year. At the present rate, another 1,029,408 of land will be converted to urban/developed land by 2030.

· Forty percent of the lakes and rivers that have been tested in Minnesota to determine if they meet pollution standards of the Clean Water Act do not meet the criteria. Currently 199 rivers and 916 lakes are on the Minnesota Impaired Waters list. New data indicates another 97 rivers and 166 lakes are polluted.

· Areas in Minnesota with lakes, rivers and forests will continue to see an influx of people – and the problems that come with that. Demand for recreation land and lakeshore is moving further north. The Ely area is now one of the hottest real estate markets in the country.

· The average Minnesotan is being pushed out of the state's traditional recreational opportunities. What was once public land or open space is now becoming privately owned or leased.

· Conservation spending in the past few years (as a percentage of the state budget) has dropped to the lowest level in 30 years. Over the past three decades, the share of the state general fund going to conservation and environment has average 1%.

Organizers of the Campaign for Conservation are hopeful that enough of us will take the threats seriously. If we do, a lot of little kids will one day thank us. If not, then more regret and disappointment.

Minnesota is calling. If you'd like to consider answering the call, check out www.campaignforconservation.org

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