History:  Natural Resources grants provide financial and technical assistance to landowners and local governments who will implement best management practices that preserve and restore critical habitats, reduce erosion and protect and improve water quality. The Natural Resources grant program has two options: (1) the Good Steward grant, primarily for smaller projects that will improve water quality, enhance natural areas and promote environmental stewardship to the community-this program requires a 25% funding match from the grant applicant; and (2) the Opportunity grant for larger projects that will improve water quality or preserve, establish or restore natural areas. Special consideration is given to applicants who leverage resources such as Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment funds or other funding sources.

The Natural Resources Grant Review Committee recently received 14 Natural Resources Good Steward grant requests totaling $180,570 (total project costs of all 14 applications is $306,057) and five Natural Resources Opportunity grant requests totaling $354,840 (total cost of the five projects is $1,592,848). In addition to seeking funds from the county’s Natural Resources Opportunity grant, the applicants attempted to leverage other funding from various sources, including Clean Water Land and Legacy amendment funds, watershed districts, cities, and neighborhood associations.

To date, the Natural Resources grant programs have provided over $882,500 in county cost-share grants to landowners and local governments for 68 projects that implemented best management practices and undertook stream and shoreline restorations and restored, enhanced and protected natural resources. Funding for this grant program comes from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund.

Current Request:  This request is to authorize the County Administrator to negotiate Natural Resources Good Steward and Opportunity grant agreements with the following organizations for projects that preserve, protect or improve natural resources and water quality in the county.

Good Steward Grant:

• James Johnson, Shoreland Restoration Project (Dayton) - $20,300.  Three adjacent property owners are proposing to restore 8,500 square feet of streambank along Rush Creek.  Restoration will consist of establishing a dense native vegetation buffer to control erosion and enhance the stream corridor for wildlife, aquatic and pollinator habitat. 
• Kenwood Isles Area Association, Raingarden Project (Minneapolis) – $9,715.  The project will result in installing up to 15 raingardens on private property throughout the neighborhood in 2017.  Metro Blooms will prepare site specific designs and work with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota to prepare and install the 15 raingardens.
• William and Diane Herzog, Raingarden Project, Minneapolis – $4,500.  Install three raingardens on their home property and the rental property they own next door.  The gardens will collect and store up to 1 inch of rainwater from 2,200 square feet of hard surfaces from these properties.  Much of the labor will be provided by approximately 10 Boy and Girl Scout Troops as an opportunity to educate and earn merit badges.
• 3540 James Avenue South Inc., Raingarden and Upland Prairie Plantings Project (Minneapolis) - $15,000.  The building at 3540 James Avenue South is a 14-unit housing cooperative located on 1.21 acres just east of Lake Calhoun.  The project proposes to install up to six rain gardens (up to 1,300 square feet total area) and upland prairie plantings (5,005 square foot feet) to capture and treat approximately 80% of the roof impervious area. 
• Spark-Y, Raingarden Project (, Minneapolis) - $5,000.  Spark-Y proposes working with the Urban Farm class at Roosevelt High School to build a rain garden at the school. The garden will be located at the northwest corner of South 40th Street and East 28th Avenue, where runoff from concrete sidewalks and a slope drain.  The gardens will be built by a team of Spark-Y summer interns.  Permanent informative signs and a walkway made of permeable pavers will open the project up to the students and public.
• Joseph D. Lochner, Raingarden Project (Minneapolis) - $4,500.  The project will consist of three raingardens and a French drain on a multifamily residential site at 1315 29^th Avenue Northeast.  The raingarden project will capture runoff from roof and driveway areas from three neighboring properties plus the majority of the Lochner property.

Opportunity Grant:

• City of Greenfield, $25,000. This project will install a diversion swale and stormwater pond to control surface water from the city’s Central Park from running into agriculture cropland below the park.  This project will capture nearly all of the park’s runoff and reduce nutrients into the Dance Hall Creek Watershed and Lake Sarah.  It will create native vegetated upland and wetland areas that will include pollinator friendly plantings.  It leverages an additional $44,500 in local grants.
• Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission, $50,000. This project will stabilize and restore streambanks along both sides of Plymouth Creek.  Twenty-one areas along 2,800 feet of stream will be stabilized and restored.  Total nutrient loads will be reduced by 52 pounds of phosphorus and 90,800 pounds of suspended solid per year.  This site drains to Medicine Lake, which is impaired because it has too many nutrients.  This project will leverage an additional $400,000 Board of Water and Soil Resources Clean Water Legacy Grant.
• Metro Blooms, $50,000.  This project works with private property owners, including non-profits, businesses and institutions in the Harrison Neighborhood of North Minneapolis to install stormwater best management practices throughout this community.  The efforts would focus on working with businesses along Glenwood Avenue to meet their revitalization goals and install projects that benefit water quality and natural resources protections.  The project would consist of a) outreach and engagement to recruit participants, b) design and install six or more projects and c) maintain and promote the best management practices.  This site drains to Bassett Creek, which is impaired for bacteria.  This project will leverage an additional $135,595 Board of Water and Soil Resources Clean Water Legacy Grant.
• Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, $50,000.  This program will install a minimum of six stormwater best management practices for commercial properties along targeted commercial corridors in Minneapolis. The plans will utilize tree trenches, underground infiltration, raingardens, permeable pavement and other best management practices to reduce nutrient loads, runoff volume, bacteria, sediment and chlorides to the Mississippi River.  This project will leverage an additional $150,000 Board of Water and Soil Resources Clean Water Legacy Grant. 
• Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek Watershed District, $50,000.  This project will restore seven acres of oak savanna and woodland areas in the Scenic Heights School forest in Minnetonka. It will protect the large native oaks, encourage desirable native species by removing buckthorn and weedy trees and shrub species, restore the ground cover with native plants and replant the woodland area with transplanted local native tree species.  Local funds leveraged from the Minnetonka School District 246, the City of Minnetonka and Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek Watershed District will be $183,610.

The request is also for approval to reimburse costs incurred by the grantees after the board approval date and upon execution of the grant agreements.

Impact/Outcomes:  The Natural Resources Good Steward and Opportunity grant awards will provide funds for best management practices and natural resource habitat restoration that will reduce nutrient loads to protect water quality and enhance natural resources in Hennepin County. These grants will help implement stormwater best management practices (including bio-retention, bio-filtration, rain gardens and pollinator gardens, and conversion of impervious areas to permeable pavers), undertake stream and shoreline restorations and restore and protect forest habitat.  

APEX contract description: PW-EE natural resource grants