Stewardship: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care

1. Stewardship: • the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care • Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary

2. Stewardship requires the recognition that we are all caretakers of the environment and economy for the benefit of present and future generations. We must balance the impacts of today’s decisions with the needs of future generations. • Minnesota Planning

3. To this end, the State of Minnesota is promoting the concept of “sustainable development” Minnesota Statutes, Section 4A.07: development that maintains or enhances economic opportunity and community well-being while protecting and restoring the natural environment upon which people and economies depend.

4. BENEFITS OF NATURAL AREAS STEWARDSHIP

5. Contribution to air purity

6. Purification system for drinking water and surface waters

7. Increased property values Liberty on the Lake, Stillwater, MN

8. Stormwater management and flood control

9. Community appeal to new residents, families, and tourism

10. Storehouses of biological diversity

11. Attraction for new businesses

12. Health impacts

13. Basis for stewardship in the Rochester area • Federal acts and legislation • State of Minnesota acts and legislation • Olmsted County plans and ordinances • City of Rochester plans and ordinances

14. TOOLBOX FOR LAND STEWARDSHIP AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES

15. MECHANISMS

16. Local government land acquisition to protect natural areas • Example: In May 1995, Plymouth voters approved purchasing about 125 acres of open space on 4 sites to be preserved. The four sites were selected based on a biological study which identified environmentally significant sites in Plymouth.

17. Acquisition by private conservation organizations and by State and Federal natural resource agencies that specialize in natural areas protection • Examples: The Trust for Public Land specializes in the acquisition of land for resale to public agencies. They worked with the City of Blaine to gain approval of a $3.5 million bond referendum for the protection of key trails and natural areas (right). • The residents of Evergreen Acres in Oronoco Township purchased some undeveloped land in their neighborhood and turned it over to the Minnesota Land Trust in order to maintain it as permanent open space.

18. Perpetual conservation easements • Example: Residents of the community of Pine Point in Stearns County, Minnesota, were upset upon hearing of development plans for the local pine forest. Enlisting the help of the Minnesota Land Trust (MLT), one owner of the woodland sold his property to an interested resident while the other agreed to five conservation easements to be held by MLT. He received an income tax deduction due to the easement donation.

19. Transfer of development rights • Example: Montgomery County, MD has the most successful TDR program in the country. It began in 1981 and has protected over 38,000 acres of land with minimal public expense.

20. Purchase of development rights • Example: In 1997, the Minnesota legislature passed enabling legislation to allow local units of government to develop and use PDR programs. The Green Corridor Project is working to develop one of Minnesota’s first PDR programs for Washington and Chisago Counties. The Town of Dunn, WI, is actively preserving corridors such as the one above using this technique.

21. Official land use controls • Urban growth boundaries such as those found in Olmsted County (contain development in urban service and urban reserve areas) • Preservation and/or conservation overlay zones (supplement underlying zoning)

22. Official land use controls • Open space zoning and subdivision requirements (cluster development with permanent open space protected by homeowners’ associations, land trusts, or gifts to government)

23. Multilevel government partnerships • Locally, the South Zumbro Joint Powers Board is a multijurisdictional body overseeing water-related issues such as the area’s flood control project.

24. Special designation of public lands • The Sattre property in Oronoco Township was purchased by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and designated as a State Scientific and Natural Area.

25. Landowner registry programs • The South Zumbro Watershed Project uses signage to call attention to conservation-oriented projects they are involved in. Examples of these include prairie restoration projects, the Kutzky Park rain gardens, and the low-maintenance landscaping at the Olmsted County Social Services Campus.

26. Education • In March 2001, the Rochester Committee on Urban Design and Environment (CUDE) hosted a “Building With Nature” workshop. This session was attended by governmental agency staff, realtors, builders, developers, and public officials. Due to the strong positive response to this workshop, CUDE plans to host another workshop dealing with conservation design issues and practices.

27. FUNDING SOURCES

28. Federal funding sources • Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) • Wetland Acquisition Program • Wetland Reserve Program

29. State funding sources • Natural and Scenic Area Grant Program • Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund • Minnesota Native Prairie Bank Program • Minnesota ReLeaf Program • Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Grant Program

30. Locally initiated funding • Acquisitions using general funds/cash • Disbursement from special funds • Bonding measures • Special districts • Benefit assessment districts • Certificates of participation • Grassroots/citizen fundraising • Acquisition of tax forfeiture lands • Park dedication fees • Funding from private individuals, corporations, and foundations

31. Other financial incentive programs • Land retirement programs • Property tax relief programs • Restoration cost share programs • Local development process incentives

32. TACRECOMMENDATIONS

33. Marion AUAR Mitigation Plan • Educational programs • Conservation checklist for developers • Distribution of electronic data • Identification of natural areas appropriate for public acquisition through Parkland Acquisition Plan update • Update Urban Service Area Land Use Plan Map

34. Standard site design

35. Alternative site design

37. Other future actions • Acquire appropriate natural areas and provide community with passive recreation opportunities • Promote “green” infrastructure • Explore tax relief program for sensitive areas • Create conservation overlay map or parallel zoning ordinance to guide development in sensitive areas • Promote environmental corridors by acquiring and linking sections of proposed system