More than $100 million in Outdoor Heritage Fund Appropriations Approved by House Environment and Natural Resources Committee

St Paul – This week, the House Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance approved a bill to allocate over $100 million in Outdoor Heritage Fund appropriations. The bill, authored by Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL – South St. Paul), contains funding recommendations from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.

“This is a critical bill for our state,” said Hansen. “Minnesota benefits greatly from its natural beauty and well maintained outdoor environment. But maintaining our lands across the state also required significant financial support. I’m happy to see the bill offering that support moving forward.”

The Outdoor Heritage Fund is funding through 19.75 percent of the sales tax revenue resulting from the Legacy Amendment passed in 2008 to support arts, arts education and arts access, and to preserve Minnesota’s history and cultural heritage. Rep. Hansen’s bill will allocate $108,620,000 from the Outdoor Heritage Fund for fiscal year 2015.

Of those funds, over $37 million will go to support prairies, $16 million to forests, $24 million to wetlands, and $30 million to habitat projects. The funds support projects ranging from the expansion of clean water buffers near lakes and rivers to the creation of new wetlands and habitat for wildlife throughout the state.

“Individual projects that are supported through the Heritage Fund range from a few hundred thousand dollars to tens of millions,” said Hansen. “Our goal is to seek input from groups around the state and create a list of projects, big or small, that really benefits Minnesota’s environment. I’m particularly happy to see support for projects right here in Dakota County and projects to address the growing challenges of Aquatic Invasive Species. For a state like ours, AIS must become an even greater focus for our environmental spending.”

Any questions about the Outdoor Heritage Fund and this year’s appropriation can be directed to Rep. Hansen by phone at (651) 296-6828 or by email at rep.rick.hansen@house.mn.