By Don Arnosti
Summer is upon us and we all revel in getting outdoors to enjoy warm weather, time off and our favorite outdoor pursuits. The cycle of nature that is on full display here in the North is one of the great pleasures of living in Minnesota. Cold/hot. Wet/dry. Bloom/senesce. Our landscape is very complex, every-changing and always interesting.
It is tempting to enjoy our birds and wildlife, spend time with family and not sweat the details. However, someone must mind the store. Details matter. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently released buffer maps proposing to downgrade protections for ditched streams and deep water wetlands in rural areas, by interpreting the Governor’s Buffer law very narrowly. Many streams and wetlands are mapped for just a 16.5 foot buffer – or none at all – when they should be receiving 50 feet of vegetative protection.
Do I think this is because the DNR officials don’t understand wetland classifications or the law? No. It is apparent to me that the DNR is taking a “political path of least resistance.” Thousands of miles of streams in southern and western Minnesota were dredged and straightened years ago to “improve drainage” leaving them legally both a “ditch” and a “public water.” DNR expects more complaints from rural interests and certain legislators if they require the full 50 foot buffer on these waters called for in law; they’re expecting that we, the citizens, will be “away at the lake.”
Conservationists can never sleep! Take a moment to dash off a quick note to the Governor. Ask him to instruct the DNR to interpret his Buffer Law correctly. Demand that “DNR Buffer Maps be changed to require a minimum 50 foot buffer on all public watercourses, even if they’ve been ditched, and that all public waters wetlands receive the 50 foot buffer, as well.”
Governor Mark Dayton
75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd #130
St Paul, MN 55155
Write your 5 minute note and get back to enjoying our birds and your family and friends. After all, summer is just too short in Minnesota to always sweat the details. Thank you for doing your part to protect nature for future generations!