Call for Proposals for 2011-2012 Funding from Minnesota's Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund

~$52 million expected to be available for project funding

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Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund logo

SAINT PAUL, MN (01/25/2010)(readMedia)-- The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) has issued its 2011-2012 Request for Proposal (RFP) for funding from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund beginning July 1, 2011. Approximately $52 million is expected to be available for projects being sought in specific environment and natural resource areas that will provide multiple ecological and other public benefits. Proposals responding to the 2011-2012 RFP are due Friday, April 9, 2010.

Proposals are being requested in specific areas of the following eight categories:

  1. Natural Resource Data and Information
  2. Water Resources
  3. Methods to Protect, Restore, and Enhance Land and Habitat
  4. Land Acquisition for Habitat and Recreation
  5. Aquatic and Terrestrial Invasive Species
  6. Climate Change, Renewable Energy, and Air Quality
  7. Environmental Education
  8. Creative Ideas

The 2011-2012 RFP contains detailed descriptions of the funding priorities under each of the eight categories listed, along with directions for submitting a proposal to the LCCMR and additional explanation of the LCCMR's proposal and funding process. Anyone with a project idea consistent with the RFP may submit a proposal for consideration by the LCCMR.

Issuance of this RFP begins the competitive, multi-step process through which the LCCMR selects projects to recommend to the Minnesota Legislature for funding from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. During June and July 2010, the LCCMR will consider all proposals received in response to the 2011-2012 RFP and make final selection of projects to include in its recommendations to the legislature during its 2011 session. Funded projects can begin July 1, 2011.

The Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund is a permanent fund in the Minnesota state treasury that was established by voter approval of a constitutional amendment in 1988. The amendment directs forty percent of the net proceeds of the Minnesota Lottery, or approximately seven cents of every dollar spent on playing the lottery, into the Trust Fund. The Trust Fund is intended to provide a long-term, stable source of funding for innovative and far-sighted activities that protect and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources for the benefit of current citizens and future generations.

For more information on the LCCMR funding process or the 2011-2012 RFP, please visit http://www.lccmr.leg.mn.

Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR)

The LCCMR is made up of 17 members (5 Senators, 5 Representatives, 5 citizens appointed by the governor, 1 citizen appointed by the Senate, and 1 citizen appointed by the House). The function of the LCCMR is to make funding recommendations to the Minnesota State Legislature for special environment and natural resource projects, primarily from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. The LCCMR developed from a program initiated in 1963. Since then over $650 million has been appropriated to more than 1,300 projects recommended to protect and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources.