~ Constitutional dedication of resources for the environment is also renewed ~

St. Cloud - In a speech today to the Department of Natural Resources Annual Roundtable in St. Cloud, Governor Tim Pawlenty announced his priorities for the 2006 capital bonding bill in the areas of conservation, water quality and the outdoors. His proposals in this area total nearly $187 million and are some of the most aggressive in recent years for conservation related projects.

Highlighting the list of projects is $54.1 million for clean water initiatives; $11.7 million for metro area parks; $73.5 million to the DNR for wildlife, habitat, and state parks; $11.1 million for pollution control projects and $34.3 million for wetland replacement and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) grants.

"Protecting and improving Minnesota's beautiful natural resources has been one of our top priorities since the beginning of my term," Governor Pawlenty said. "This package builds on the solid foundation our administration has built in the area of conservation and the environment."

Governor Pawlenty also renewed his call for dedicating 3/16ths of the state sales tax toward funding conservation projects. This proposal for a constitutional amendment was stalled in the legislature during the 2005 session.

"It's time to make a stronger commitment to conservation and the outdoors by putting this amendment on the ballot this year to permanently dedicate resources to the environment for our children and grandchildren," Governor Pawlenty added.

Projects recommended for funding in today's proposal include: 

·         $18 million to permanently save large tracts of forest land, expand our state forests and plant trees

·         $27 million in new spending for seven different fish and wildlife programs

·         $16.5 million for parks, trails, water access and land acquisition to improve outdoor recreation

·         $15 million for waste water infrastructure and $38.8 million for drinking water and waste water programs at the Department of Employment and Economic Development

·         $11.7 million to expand metro area parks through the Met Council

·         $11.1 million to deal with dangerous landfills for environmentally friendly methods of solid waste disposal through the Pollution Control Agency

·         $30.1 million to continue our efforts to put 120,000 sensitive acres under the federal CREP program through the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR)

"This is a comprehensive package that addresses a wide variety of Minnesota's environmental and conservation challenges," Governor Pawlenty said. "I am hopeful the Legislature will agree that funding these projects is critical to continuing a bright future for Minnesota."