"I was spottin' those raccoons..."

I had an interesting experience in the woods the other day, and I just might tell you folks about it some day on here. For now, Brad will be the only person to share knowledge of that experience. Instead of relating that story or telling about my weekend (I will probably get to that too), I am going to give this post a real purpose and even respond to a comment from one of my few readers.

Sarah said: "Okay, so, what? The hoover damn is harming you how? You will be a Minnesotan for the rest of your life."
And she is right, I need to give you folks some information that will perhaps hit a little closer to home. I have a larger tree-hugging agenda, but I should start with some small stuff. Did you know that "just eight percent of rivers and 14 percent of lakes have been tested" in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act? And of those that have been tested, 1,900 fail to meet the standards set forth by that act. Most violations showed contamination with mercury, phosphorus, or fecal coliform bacteria (cow and other animal shit which host e. coli. and salmonella).
Oddly, despite our failure to meet the standards set forth for water quality as well as standards in other areas, we aren't planning any increases in funding for our environmental programs, but instead (in real dollars) are spending less now than in 1999. At this point our funding for the Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Board of Water & Soil Resources, Office of Environmental Assistance, and Minnesota Department of Agriculture all total up to 1.35% of our general fund expenditures. Our governor is leading the way in this and, also strange, the Republican held legislature is even recommending more funding than Pawlenty. I guess Timmy-boy is under the impression that inflation does not apply to the money spent by our environmental agencies and that they will be able to achieve more while being restricted more and more by their funding.
Oh, goodness, I am getting offtrack. Back to water...soil erosion is still a widespread problem across the state (even at my grandparent's place, but I am working on that) and, along with all that soil, many tons of cow shit and other pollutants are entering into our water systems and eventually into the water table. We have caused this, in large part, through our agricultural practices. We farm land right up next to streams and lakes with no thought to a buffer zones that could stop the sediment and/or filter out some of these toxins. Currently, Minnesota is having its first batch of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands come to the end time for the contracts that protect them. This program is used to pay farmers not to till or farm marginal cropland that is near areas needing protection, often water areas. This is a program that needs support and advertisement as it is a viable option for preventing some pollution until the time that we learn about the greater benefits of letting these lands lay undisturbed instead of the slight monetary profit that can be gained from raising crops on these lands.
This is just one program in Minnesota that I would like to draw more attention and, perhaps, more funding to. We have a lot of issues (not just about the water) within our own state and I will try to help out with getting out awareness about these things. I'll try to leave the Colorado River for another time.
Minnesota is better than most other states in its efforts to protect the environment, but, really, does this do more to speak well for us or to speak poorly for the rest of the nation.

As always, comments and questions would be great as they inspire me for future writings and force me to do research to back up claims that I make.

Here are some good links for environmental issues and activism in Minnesota:
Minnesota Environment Partnership
-Contaminated Waters
-State Budget
Minnesota Conservation Federation
National Wildlife Federation (I totally want to get certified.)

Peace.