The Minnesota Forest Legacy Partnership works with landowners, loggers, outdoor enthusiasts, and communities to preserve forests for timber, jobs, recreation, and wildlife habitat. The partnership has established a multi-million dollar capital fund to help ensure sustainable forestry, protect wildlife habitat, and guarantee public access in the large industrial forests of north-central Minnesota. The partnership has set a three-year, $26 million goal to conserve working forests. The Minnesota Forest Legacy Partnership includes the Blandin Foundation, The Conservation Fund, Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, Minnesota DNR, Minnesota Forest Resources Council, The Nature Conservancy, and The Trust for Public Land.
Blandin Foundation
Blandin Foundation, Minnesota's largest rural-based private foundation, is located in Grand Rapids. Through grants, leadership, development programs, and public policy, its mission is to strengthen rural Minnesota's communities, especially in the Grand Rapids area. The foundation helps communities provide choice and opportunity for all, especially people facing social and economic challenges.
The Conservation Fund
The Conservation Fund, working with public, private, and nonprofit partners, protects America's most critical lands and waters to provide greater access to nature, strengthen local economies and enhance climate resiliency. Top-ranked for efficiency and effectiveness, the Fund has worked in all 50 states since 1985 to protect more than 8.5 million acres of land. The Fund has a dual charter to deliver environmental benefits that make economic sense. Every project places conservation at its center, and the entrepreneurial staff creates and implements innovative, practical ways to benefit the natural world and the well-being of Americans from every walk of life. The Fund inspires new, innovative models that prove strategic conservation is good for both people and the environment.
Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce
The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce advocates for a business environment where its members can prosper. The chamber has long been engaged in environmental issues with multiple-use forest policies as a priority. Forest Legacy Partnership projects have allowed the chamber to become a strategic partner with other stakeholders in preserving large tracts of working forest lands for the future. Working forest land conservation easements not only provide a means to ensure that these large areas of forest are available to provide wood and wood fiber for small businesses and industries, but they also provide a means for the public to enjoy many facets of recreational uses, depending on the language in the easement. The chamber is proud to be a part of this unique opportunity.
Minnesota Deer Hunters Association
The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association is a 501(c)3 nonprofit conservation organization working today for tomorrow's hunters and wildlife in Minnesota. Composed of 64 chapters, 20,000 members, and thousands of volunteers throughout Minnesota, it focuses on habitat, legislation, and education to ensure future hunting opportunities in Minnesota.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
The Minnesota DNR manages the state's natural resources, including forests, parks, trails, lakes, rivers, streams, fish, wildlife, state lands, and minerals; outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, boating, snowmobiling, skiing, and OHV riding; commercial uses of natural resources; and hunter, rider, and boat and water safety, enforcement, and education. Our mission is to work with citizens to conserve and manage the state's natural resources, to provide outdoor recreation opportunities, and to provide for commercial uses of natural resources in a way that creates a sustainable quality of life.
Minnesota Forest Resources Council
The Minnesota Forest Resources Council is a 17-member organization working to promote long-term sustainable management of Minnesota forests by advising the governor and public agencies on sustainable forest resource policies and practices and coordinating the implementation of the Sustainable Forest Resources Act. Following SFRA mandates, the MFRC completed site-level timber harvesting and forest management guidelines in 1999, revised them in 2004, and now monitors their implementation and effectiveness. From 1997 to 2004, the MFRC developed six long-term landscape plans for the state's major forested regions. It maintains regional coordination committees.
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters worldwide for nature and people. To date, the conservancy and its more than 1 million members have been responsible for protecting more than 119 million acres and 5,000 river miles worldwide.
The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit organization that creates parks and protects land as natural places for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. To date, TPL has protected more than 3 million acres at more than 5,000 places nationwide. In Minnesota, TPL has protected more than 99,000 acres at over 180 places. This includes the Chainsaw Sisters Mudro Lake portage access adjacent to the BWCAW, an addition to the Neenah Creek Regional Park in St. Cloud, the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary east of downtown St. Paul and the most prominent portion of historic Pilot Knob in Mendota Heights.