Background:
The county works with local governments and landowners to conserve and protect natural resources and wildlife habitat. In 2016, the board approved the Natural Resources Strategic Plan and the Hennepin County Conservation Easement Program (Resolution 16-0144R2), which together established a framework to pursue conservation easements and criteria for evaluating conservation easement opportunities. A conservation easement is a set of development restrictions a landowner voluntarily places on their property to preserve its conservation value. The landowner retains ownership of the land and continues to pay property taxes.
The Minnesota Land Trust (MLT) is a Minnesota non-profit organization that acquires, holds, manages, and enforces conservation easements in Minnesota. Currently, the county and MLT jointly hold 10 conservation easements pursuant to the terms of the Agreement A080788 (Resolutions 08-0223, 11-0226, 12-0478, 18-0049, 20-0059, 20-0381, 21-0220).
Hennepin County and MLT have jointly been awarded two grants totaling $4.6 million from the Outdoor Heritage Fund to fund the acquisition of conservation easements and to undertake habitat restoration and enhancement activities. The first grant was awarded in 2018 for $1.5 million. The county received $194,000 (Resolution 18-0359) and MLT received the remainder. The second grant was awarded in 2020 for $3.1 million. The county received $446,000 (Resolution 20-0384) and MLT received the remainder.
Eight easement acquisitions have been approved under these grants over the past three years – seven of those have been completed (184 acres) and one (40 acres) is in progress (Resolutions 20-0059, 20-0381, 21-0220).
Environment and Energy staff recommend four additional easement projects that meet the criteria set forth in the Conservation Easement Program. These projects were also reviewed by a Technical Advisory Committee of external partners who have agreed they are worthy of protection.
- Painter Creek 1 (Davis – East) in Minnetrista: 26 acres of upland forest, grassland, wetlands, marshland, and 380 linear feet of Painter Creek.
- Painter Creek 2 (Davis 2 – West) in Minnetrista: 41 acres of upland forest, grassland, ephemeral forest wetlands, marshland, and 753 linear feet of intermittent streams.
- Little Long Lake 6 (Tuwar Corporation) in Minnetrista: 10 acres of upland forest, marshland, grassland, and pasture.
- Lake Rebecca 1 (Ahrendt) in Independence: 112 acres of upland forest, wetlands, and grassland and 2,838 linear feet of lake shore on Haughey Lake and 542 linear feet of pond shoreline.
These easements comprise part of a critical habitat corridor, are adjacent to other significant permanently protected natural areas, and are adjacent to or encompass sites of significant biodiversity designated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. These four projects build on existing protected areas. Painter Creek 1 and Painter Creek 2 combined expand a critical habitat corridor around Painter Marsh, connecting to Minnehaha Creek Watershed District properties. Little Long Lake 6 is part of a cluster of easements near Kingswood Camp and Gale Woods, both part of Three Rivers Park District system, and Voyager environmental education center owned by the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities. Rebecca 1 is adjacent to Lake Rebecca Park Reserve, owned by Three Rivers Park District, and a nearby easement property with opportunities to expand.
Current Request: This request seeks approval of Amendment 7 to A080788 with MLT to co-hold three additional conservation easements on properties in the city of Minnetrista and one additional conservation easement on a property in the city of Independence, increasing the amount by $96,000 for a new total not to exceed of $354,500.
The agreement delineates the roles of MLT and the county as co-holders of these and 10 previous conservation easements and places the responsibility for administration of the easements with MLT. MLT’s responsibilities include the completion of title searches, coordination of surveys and appraisals as well as annual inspections of easements and enforcement of the terms of these easements. These services are funded in part by stewardship fees.
This amendment allocates $24,000 per easement, totaling $96,000 to be used to pay MLT stewardship fees. Funding for the negotiated purchase prices of these conservation easements will be paid by MLT from the Outdoor Heritage Fund grant. The cost of the stewardship fees for these easements is part of the Hennepin County committed leverage to the Outdoor Heritage Fund grant.
Impact/Outcomes: The proposed easements will permanently protect 189 acres of ecologically significant natural areas in the cities of Minnetrista and Independence. These projects connect and expand existing land protected by prior easement projects, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, or Three Rivers Park District. Conservation easements provide wildlife habitat, flood storage, water filtration, groundwater recharge, carbon sequestration, and improve the county’s resilience to the impacts of climate change.
Securing these easements supports the county’s Climate Action Plan goal of protecting 6,000 acres of conservation easements by 2040. These projects represent a partial, but important tool to help us accomplish this goal. This action is also an exceptional opportunity to sequester carbon and supports the county’s goal of planting one million trees by 2030. These easements will permanently protect 50 acres of forests and woodland and makes 8.5 acres available for forest and woodland restoration.
This action supports the county’s disparity reduction efforts by storing and sequestering carbon, which mitigate climate change and its impacts on vulnerable populations.