LCCMR announces funding to research CWD prion movement through Minnesota's waterways

SAINT PAUL, MN (07/30/2024) (readMedia)-- Governor Walz yesterday approved a recommendation from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) for $164,000 in funding from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) for a project to research how far and fast chronic wasting disease (CWD) prions move through Minnesota's streams and rivers. This research, made possible through the LCCMR's Emerging Issues Account, will help inform water quality management agencies about the spread of CWD in Minnesota and beyond.

In approving the request, Governor Walz wrote, "Minnesota has a long history of taking bold and innovative action on environmental and conservation issues. Sometimes it requires unique, outside-the-box thinking and ideas. I am thankful to live in a state that is ready and willing to act."

LCCMR co-chairs Rep. Rick Hansen, Sen. Foung Hawj, and Nancy Gibson, said in a statement, "Minnesota's response to CWD will only be as strong as our understanding of the disease itself. We need more efforts like this, which build on previous ENRTF-funded research, to provide critical Minnesota-specific information about the spread of CWD."

The approved funding will allow researchers from the Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach (MNPRO) at the University of Minnesota to evaluate CWD prion movement downstream of known CWD hot spots. CWD is a contagious, 100% fatal neurological disease affecting deer, the prions of which are resistant to degradation and can remain infectious in the environment for years. Led by Dr. Diana Karwan, this effort builds on recent MNPRO research, supported by funding from the ENRTF and the Clean Water Fund, that helped illuminate how CWD prions associate with fine sediment suspended in water, with preliminary results indicating prion -positive sediments can be found downstream of some CWD-positive cervid farms even after the farms have been depopulated.

The LCCMR's Emerging Issues Account is intended to be used for efforts addressing an unexpected and urgent need in an expedited manner, including to address environmental or disease issues where delay will threaten the viability of segments of the State's natural resources or human health. Requests for funds from the Emerging Issues Account follow a different process than the LCCMR's RFP and funding recommendation process. After recommendation by the commission on June 28, 2024, this request was sent to the Governor for approval.

The Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund is a permanent dedicated fund in the Minnesota state treasury that was established by 77% voter approval of a constitutional amendment in 1988. The amendment directs forty percent of the net proceeds of the Minnesota State Lottery into the Trust Fund until the year 2025. Since 1991, approximately $1 billion from the ENRTF has been spent on over 1,600 projects that protect and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources in every county of the state.

The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources is made up of 5 state senators, 5 state representatives, and 7 citizen members. 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 approximately $1.3 billion has been appropriated to over 2,100 projects recommended to protect and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources.

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