FMR Updates

The closing of Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock is good news for Minnesotans. It will help ensure that invasive carp are not able to migrate upstream of downtown Minneapolis. Unfortunately, last week’s good news for the Mississippi was mired by the bad news about Bighead carp arriving in bigger numbers in the St. Croix River as far north as Stillwater. >>

Send Governor Dayton a message asking him to veto the Environment budget Bill.

Following a disappointing and chaotic end to the 2015 legislative session, the conservation community is asking Governor Dayton to veto a highly controversial environmental bill. The bill makes deep cuts to environmental spending (24.3%), contains numerous rollbacks to environmental policies, and includes last-minute language violating a universal agreement on biofuels policy.

While the legislature's compromise on a modest stream buffer proposal was among several positive outcomes this year, funding for both the buffer initiative and UofM Forever Green cover crop research failed to pass before the clock ran out. As a result, a special session is almost certain to be scheduled in the coming weeks.

On April 24, 2015, the Saint Paul Planning Commission approved a height variance of 33.5 additional feet for Johnson Brothers’ proposed mixed-use building at 1465 Davern Street which lies within the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area and the National Park boundary. FMR appealed this decision on May 4, 2015 because this development will significantly impact the scenic and historic character of the river valley at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers.