June 30 legislative deadline for Otter Tail County projects

Take action today - unless the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund bill is passed by June 30, projects that have been stalled for a year at the Legislature will die. That includes two Otter Tail County projects that are waiting on action. Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen is co-chair of the legislative working group on the bill that contains these projects and Chair of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee.

Click below to send him an email urging action on the Perham to Pelican Rapids Trail and the Glendalough State Park acquisition that would add 155 acres to the park. 

Details on the Otter Tail County projects that will die on June 30 unless Sen. Ingebrigtsen and other legislators reach agreement on lottery-funded science and habitat projects are below. 

Minnesota State Parks and State Trails Inholdings (Glendalough State Park parcel)

PROJECT SUMMARY:

This project would bolster the state’s parks and trails system and strengthen Minnesota’s tourism economy by buying land from willing sellers that falls within the legislatively established boundaries of Minnesota’s 75 parks and recreation areas and 26 trails. The "inholdings" are highly desirable due to their unique landscapes and/or rare wildlife, plantlife, topography and natural resources and are considered "once-in-a- lifetime" purchase opportunities for the state presented by sellers who often have a vision of making their family's land available for the public to enjoy into perpetuity, according to the DNR. If the state lacks the funding to jump on these rare listings, the properties could be subdivided, developed or taken off the market.

Among such properties currently available is a 155-acre parcel inside the Glendalough State Park boundary in Otter Tail County, which the DNR has asked for $1 million in Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) funding to acquire. The purchase of the unique parcel would “protect over 2,200 feet of Blanche Lake shoreline and over 700-feet of pristine creek frontage with abundant emergent and aquatic vegetation.” The site, which was given the highest site rating possible by the DNR, also includes a forest that is home to high quality oak stands and serves as a “major migratory corridor” for birds and waterfowl, according to the DNR.

Perham to Pelican Rapids Regional Trail (West Segment)

PROJECT SUMMARY

Otter Tail County needs $2.6 million in ENRTF funding to complete the west segment (about 7 miles) of the 32-mile, multi-use Perham to Pelican Rapids Regional Trail being constructed to connect the two communities via Maplewood State Park. The west segment will connect Pelican Rapids to the state park, which is a "significant destination for residents and visitors alike," according to the project description listed on the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources' website. Some 150,000 people visited the park in 2017, and attendance has only grown since. The trail will provide the only safe, non motorized route from the park to nearby local communities.

Once finished, the trail will not only provide "considerable health and community benefits," but it will also "offer opportunities for economic growth and development" as evidenced by the boon Battle Lake experienced after the completion of the Glendalough Trail in 2014, which connected the park to the City of Battle Lake, according to an article about the Perham to Pelican Rapids trail that appeared in the Fergus Falls Daily Journal in 2019.