Legislative-Citizen Commission Visiting Southeast Minnesota Natural Resources Sites

SAINT PAUL, MN (09/11/2008)(readMedia)-- The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) will be traveling through southeast Minnesota on Tuesday, September 16 and Wednesday, September 17 to visit several natural resources sites and learn more about important natural resources issues in the region.

The LCCMR will visit nine sites over the course of two days. At each site, the LCCMR will tour the area and hear presentations from government agency officials and natural resources experts about the sites themselves and important natural resources issues pertaining to them.

When: Tuesday, September 16 and Wednesday, September 17, 2008

What: Site visits and presentations on various natural resources issues in southeast Minnesota, including Mississippi River management, forest conservation, bluff prairie protection, development pressures, southeast Minnesota flood impacts and recovery, karst geology, groundwater use and allocation, and trout stream management.

Who: The LCCMR will hear presentations from representatives of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (PCA), the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Trout Unlimited, the Minnesota Groundwater Association (MGWA), the University of Minnesota, the City of Rochester, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and local property owners.

Where: Various natural resources sites in southeast Minnesota. September 16 includes visits to the Lake Pepin and Weaver Bottoms areas of the Mississippi River; a forest conservation site near Weaver, MN; Whitewater Wildlife Management Area; and Whitewater State Park. September 17 includes visits to Lanesboro State Fish Hatchery; sink holes near Fountain, MN; Spring Valley Caverns; and Stonehedge Fen near Rochester, MN.

All site visit locations and presentations are open to the public.

Additional details, including a trip agenda, are available at http://www.lccmr.leg.mn/Schedule.html or by contacting Mike Banker at the LCCMR.

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, and 1 citizen appointed by each the Senate and the House). The function of the LCCMR (formerly LCMR) 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. These projects help maintain and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources. The LCCMR developed from a program initiated in 1963. Prior to May 1, 2008 over $600 million has been appropriated to more than 1,250 projects recommended to protect and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources.