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Natural Resources Funding on the Ballot this November

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Since its establishment in 1988, the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) has invested over one billion dollars in environmental projects "for the public purpose of protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state's air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources." The constitutional dedication of these funds is set to expire in 2025, but Minnesota residents can vote this November to rededicate them through 2050. A 'Yes' vote supports this measure, whereas a 'No' vote opposes it. If left blank on the ballot, it will be counted as a 'No' vote.  

Funding for the ENRTF originates from Minnesota State Lottery proceeds and is administered by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. It is a substantial source of long-term and stable funding for a variety of organizations and projects throughout the state, supporting efforts tied to improving water quality, habitat, recreation, outreach and education, renewable energy, and more. Learn more about the ENRTF and find a full list of the 1,700(+) projects it has supported HERE. For more information contact Breanna Keith, Water Resource Specialist at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Watershed Grants Becoming More Predictable

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We secure lots of grants at ACD. They are a mainstay of our funding; we do not levy taxes. For our water quality projects, grants are changing significantly with a recent program called Watershed Based Implementation Funding (WBIF). These recurring grants are providing the foundation for sustained, cohesive programs rather than a start-and-stop approach.

Historically, grants were competitive. And many still are. We complete a lengthy application process and our proposals are scored against others. The grant lasts a few years and is done. This continues to work well for many of our largest, stand-alone projects. In fact, ACD has applied for a half dozen of them in just the last few months. 

Photo: ACD staff installing a shoreline stabilization on Lake George.

New WBIF funding is not competitive, not awarded to one agency, recurs every two years, and the dollars go to a watershed area. Local agencies in that watershed collaborate together to decide how to best utilize the money. The watershed must have one or more locally- and state-approved plans to guide their decisions. Instead of competing against one another, local managers are collaboratively deciding on the projects with the best return on investment.

ACD hosted a Rum River metro-watershed WBIF grant for the last three years. The grant is closing and we're pleased to report on some outcomes that included 9 Lake George shoreline stabilizations; 1 Rum Riverbank stabilization; 6 rain gardens in the City of Anoka; 1 swale stabilization in St. Francis; subwatershed studies that identify and rank projects for Ford Brook, East Twin Lake, and Pickerel Lake; a bunch of water quality public outreach, and more. Additional Rum metro WBIF funds have been received in 2022 and 2024, and work is underway.

WBIF grants are for water quality improvements that are the mutual priorities of watershed managers. ACD continues to utilize a variety of grants for other types of projects, such as pollinator plantings, easements, habitat, and more. For more information contact, Watershed Projects Manager, Jamie Schurbon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

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Anoka Conservation District Staff Submit a Slew of Proposals for 2025 Grant Funding

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ACD operates largely on grant funding. Securing grants enables ACD to provide beneficial services to the public without significantly impacting local taxpayers. In order to keep things progressing smoothly, we dovetail grants, which each allow three to five years to complete, so some grants are being wrapped up while others are coming on line. To lay the foundation for 2025 and beyond, we recently secured several grants and applied for others.  

Recent Awards ($756K)

  • Soil Health ($20K) – cost share projects that improve water quality and/or soil productivity.
  • Pollinator Pathways ($92K) – cost share for projects that provide habitat and connectivity for at-risk pollinators.
  • Rum River Metro Watershed Based Implementation Funding - Clean Water Fund ($569K) – analysis, outreach, and projects that improve water quality in priority local water resources in the Rum River Watershed portion of Anoka County.
  • Sunrise River Watershed Based Implementation Funding - Clean Water Fund ($75K) - analysis and projects that improve water quality in priority local water resources in the Sunrise River Watershed portion of Anoka County.

Recent Applications ($5,751K)

  • Rum River Enhancement, Phase 3- Outdoor Heritage Fund ($1,974K) – Rum River improvements through projects that stabilize eroding riverbanks, reconnect floodplains, restore wild rice populations, and restore adjacent wetlands, forests and prairies
  • Anoka Sandplain Partnership, Phase 10 - Outdoor Heritage Fund ($2,573K) – ecological enhancement and protection through restoration and preservation programs and projects
  • Enhanced Street Sweeping Integrated into 11-County Sub-Watershed Analyses - Clean Water Fund ($330K) – analysis of street sweeping protocols to identify strategies to improve water quality by strategically redirecting current efforts
  • Ditch 20 Wetland Restoration Benefiting Typo & Martin Lakes - Clean Water Fund ($221K) – restore hydrology in a large wetland complex upstream of Typo Lake to improve water quality
  • Drinking Water Protection Through Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems Fix Ups ($200K) – provide cost share funds to repair or replace failing septic systems to protect surface and ground water quality
  • Targeted Mississippi River Bank Stabilization Focused on Bioengineering, Round 3 - Clean Water Fund ($383K) – provide technical and financial assistance to property owners to address eroding riverbanks on the Mississippi River
  • Protecting Groundwater Quality in Anoka County Through Targeted Well Sealing, Phase 2 - Clean Water Fund ($70K) – provide cost share to seal unused wells to protect drinking water quality
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Lawns to Legumes Individual Grants Available

Dreaming of warmer weather and gardening season? Applications are now open for Fall 2024 individual Lawns to Legumes grants! Minnesota residents are eligible to apply for $400 reimbursement grants for creating native pollinator habitat on their properties. Projects can take the form of small pocket plantings, larger pollinator meadows, or pollinator friendly lawns.

Grant recipients are selected by a lottery system. The application closes on May 15th. Check out the MN Lawns to Legumes page for a plethora of resources on pollinator garden design, selecting native plant species, and maintaining pollinator habitat.

Note: Individual Lawns to Legumes grants are distributed at the state level, not by ACD. You can find contact information for assistance with these programs at the links above. 

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Pursuing Levy Authority in 2024

The elected Board of ACD is moving forward with legislation to have the ability to levy property taxes for residents of Anoka County. With the levy limits included in the bill (HF3701) and ACD's other revenue streams, the anticipated levy increase for the average single family home in 2025 through 2029 is around $0.67 per year. Why bother pursuing legislation for such a small levy? That's a long story, but here's the gist of it.

  • ACD has been around since 1946 serving the public by providing financial and technical assistance to private landowners who want to be good stewards of our lakes, stream, wetlands, drinking water, wildlife, etc.
  • ACD submits a budget to Anoka County to request funding to support our mission. The County has the option to fund all, some or none of the request.
  • ACD's requests to the County compete for limited funding against transportation, public safety, social services, economic development, and parks and recreation.
  • For 20 years, when population growth and inflation alone grew Anoka County's budget by 83%, ACD's allocation grew by 8.4%.

"So what you're saying is that if ACD gets its way, a family of four in Anoka County will have to give up one fancy cup of coffee every four years for cleaner lakes and rivers, better fishing, improved habitat for wildlife, and safer drinking water?" Well, when you put it that way…

For more information about ACD's pursuit for levy authority contact Chris Lord, District Manager, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

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$1.7M of Habitat Enhancement for the Rum River Corridor

$1.7M of state funds from the Outdoor Heritage Fund of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment was awarded for habitat enhancement in the Rum River Corridor. A broad-based partnership will bring an additional $215,000 in local matching funds. We will use these funds to enhance wildlife habitat from the headwaters in Lake Mille Lacs to where the Rum River joins the Mississippi River in Anoka. The Rum River Corridor is critical habitat for many rare species, including Blanding's Turtle and two types of mussels, to name a few. We will be doing habitat improvement projects from in the river to beyond the banks.

Links:
Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment
Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council
Outdoor Heritage Fund

For more information visit the links above or contact Jared Wagner at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 763.434.2030 x200
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Legislature Passes SWCD Funding Reform

This legislative session, the Minnesota Legislature passed Minnesota Statute 477A.23, subd. 4(b), providing funding to soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs) throughout the state. While this isn't new money, the funding comes from a different source that will make it more reliable and provide local flexibility.

For the last eight years, SWCDs have received funding through the Clean Water Fund of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment which required legislative action every two years. On average, Anoka Conservation District (ACD) received $125K/year with 2023 being $137K. Unlike most grants, this funding could be used for any project or program aimed at improving water quality. ACD could quickly tap into these funds to complete many small but critical efforts such as:

  • photo inventories of lakeshore and riverbank erosion,
  • development of public outreach materials to promote conservation programs,
  • hosting events,
  • website enhancements like project mapping, and dashboards,
  • equipment and technology purchases, and
  • small project cost share.

Where the previous funding fell short was that it couldn't be used for projects outside the scope of water quality, making projects such as habitat improvement, water conservation, and general public outreach and engagement ineligible. The new funds will replace Clean Water Funds and are distributed directly from the state through the Department of Revenue to SWCDs, cutting out mid-level agency involvement and reducing red tape. Now that these funds aren't restricted solely to water quality, SWCD's can use the funds where they are needed to properly address local priorities.

We are excited that for two years ACD will receive a bit more than past years at $179K. This will go down to normal thereafter.

For more information contact Chris Lord, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 763.434.2030 x130 

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Funding Available For Agricultural Practices

The Anoka Conservation District is offering incentive grants to agricultural producers who use land management practices that benefit water quality and soil health. Eligible agricultural practices include cover crops, no-till, strip-till, conservation-tillage, prescribed grazing, nutrient management, and others. Available funding varies by the type of practice. A three-year commitment is required by the landowner to qualify for the program. 

For more information about this great opportunity, contact Jamie Schurbon at 763-434-2030 ext. 210 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

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Financial Dashboard Added to ACD’s Website: Improving Transparency and Accountability to the Public We Serve

Online dashboards are an increasingly popular way to display summary information about otherwise complex data sets. Beginning in 2022, ACD started using dashboards to highlight annual and cumulative progress on ecological and water quality oriented projects. The most recent addition to ACD dashboards is one that shows ACD financials going back to 2010. "While it took a bit of time to format financial data to work with the dashboard interface, I think it was well worth it" Anoka Conservation District Manager Chris Lord said. "We beta tested it with several of our state legislators during virtual meetings and they responded very positively." The data extend back to 2010 specifically to capture all of the funds ACD has received from the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Constitutional Amendment.  

The next dashboard in the lineup will show ACD progress toward 10-Year Natural Resource Stewardship Plan goals. For more information contact Chris Lord,  763.434.2030 x130, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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