Program purpose
These grants are intended to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species into Minnesota waters. This grant program is designed to assist local organizations that would like additional watercraft inspections (beyond what is done by the DNR Watercraft Inspection Program) at particular water accesses. It is an offer to split the cost of additional watercraft inspections with cooperators. The cooperating organization can provide input into scheduling the hours of inspection. The DNR recruits, hires, and schedules the inspectors, and provides supervision, insurance, and social security costs.
Description of grant offer and funding levels:
Proposed water bodies/ water accesses are evaluated by DNR staff within the Invasive Species Program based on the following criteria. The number of inspection hours offered to cooperators depends on available funds and how closely the proposed water bodies/ water accesses meet the grant criteria listed below.
Grant criteria
A water body/water access will be ranked higher if it is:
- A high-use water access, based on the number of parking spaces and past watercraft inspector observations.
- A water body located in a high-use or popular traveler destination area.
- A water access near or on an infested water.
The final amount of inspection hours offered to cooperators depends upon:
- The number of inspection hours requested by the applicant;
- The total number of inspection hours requested by all applicants;
- How well the proposal meets the grant criteria;
- The past history of the grantee on previous prevention grants; and
- The relative ranking of the proposal compared to other proposals.
Questions
- Your Regional Invasive Species Specialists for assistance with your grant and permit applications, and technical advice on your proposed control project.
- Angelique Dahlberg, Research and Grants Coordinator, 651-259-5164, can answer questions about the grant process.