Hilarie Sorensen testing water quality in an icy Minnesota lake. Image credit: Cait Dettmann/MNSG.
Duluth, Minn. — Minnesota Sea Grant’s proposed Training Lake Communities to Track Chloride and Algae project received support from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) August 2, 2024, when it was selected for inclusion in their annual recommendations to the Minnesota Legislature on how to allocate proceeds from the state’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund.
“The primary outcome of this project will be the creation of a long-term network of community members trained to monitor chloride and harmful algae blooms (HABs) in rural Minnesota lakes,” said project lead and Minnesota Sea Grant Water Resources Extension Educator Hilarie Sorensen.
To develop this community-based monitoring network, the project team led by Minnesota Sea Grant and the Natural Resources Research Institute will partner with soil and water conservation districts, lake associations, and other lake-based communities to conduct late-spring to early-summer chloride sampling and late-summer to early-fall HAB sampling.
Image credit: Cait Dettmann/MNSG.
The goal of the network will be to help improve the understanding of chloride and HAB dynamics in rural lakes, inform future chloride and HAB monitoring efforts by natural resource agencies, and ideally, identify solutions for mitigating these stressors on Minnesota lakes.
“Additional project outcomes will include the development of a web-based interactive data portal to facilitate information sharing among volunteers and project partners,” said Sorensen. “Minnesota Sea Grant will also lead efforts in public education and outreach, and in the development and delivery of programs, tools, and resources to increase awareness about chloride and HABs.”
If approved by the 2025 Minnesota Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz, the project would begin in July 2025.
The project was one of 125 included in the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources’ (LCCMR) recommendation following its 2025 Request for Proposals (RFP), which sought projects across several priority issue areas, including foundational data and information, water resources, environmental education, invasive species, renewable energy, methods to protect and restore habitat, and habitat protection and outdoor recreation. The LCCMR will meet this winter to finalize the recommendations.
In response to the RFP, LCCMR received 214 proposals requesting a total of approximately $183 million. A subset of proposals was invited to provide a presentation and receive further consideration by the Commission. In the end, 125 projects received a recommendation to the Legislature for some portion of the approximately $103 million available. Additional information on the LCCMR and its 2025 recommendations process can be found online at www.lccmr.mn.gov.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) 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 ENRTF until the year 2025. Since 1991, approximately $1.1 billion from the ENRTF has been spent on over 1,700 projects that protect and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources in every county of the state.
Minnesota Sea Grant is a systemwide program of the University of Minnesota and one of 34 Sea Grant federal-university partnerships across the country that bring applied water science to communities. MNSG has staff and offices on the Duluth and St. Paul campuses. Our extension educators, researchers, and communicators work with community members, local decision-makers, policy leaders, and personnel from resource agencies, business, and industry to enhance the use and conservation of Great Lakes and Minnesota’s inland water resources to create strong and sustainable economies, healthy environments, and resilient and inclusive communities.
CONTACTS:
Hilarie Sorensen, Water Resources Extension Educator, Minnesota Sea Grant, University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Duluth, soren360@d.umn.edu
Marie Thoms, communications manager, Minnesota Sea Grant, University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Duluth. methoms@d.umn.edu