Despite record state budget deficit Parks & Trails Council will stick to core principles

Protecting Park and Trail fund a top priority in 2009

The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment approved by Minnesota voters Nov. 4, 2008, created four separate streams of dedicated funding. One stream is dedicated to clean water purposes, a second stream is dedicated to outdoor heritage purposes, a third stream is dedicated to arts and cultural heritage purposes, and a fourth stream is dedicated to park and trail purposes. The Parks & Trails Council is making this fourth stream, officially known as the Park and Trail Fund, the primary focus of our legislative agenda in 2009. We have already begun working with park and trail stakeholders and policy makers in trying to develop an allocation formula that would direct expenditures from this fund, which will receive 14.25 percent of the proceeds derived through the Legacy Amendment (approximately $39 million in fiscal year 2010-2011).

The Parks & Trails Council is also making it a top priority to work with Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Legislature to ensure that the Park and Trail Fund is used wisely so that Minnesotans can see tangible results of the investments for which they voted. In order to clearly articulate the position of the Parks & Trails Council this session, we have developed six core principles that we believe should guide how park and trail funding decisions are made during the 2009 session. Because it will be imperative for Parks & Trails members to be able to articulate these core principles to the governor and to legislators, we are including them here for your reference. They are:

• The Park and Trail Fund alone is not sufficient to meet all of the needs of Minnesota's parks and trails.
• When developing an allocation formula for the Park and Trail Fund, equity and balance between the needs and priorities of the three distinctly different park and trail systems must be recognized (state system, metro system and Greater Minnesota regional system).
• The Park and Trail Fund should be used to meet the specific priority needs of each distinct park and trail system.
• The Park and Trail Fund must provide flexibility to meet future, unknown needs.
• The Department of Natural Resources should create a new grant program to deliver Park and Trail Fund money to Greater Minnesota regional parks and trails.
• The Park and Trail Fund must supplement, not supplant, current levels and sources of park and trail funding, including general fund appropriations, other "dedicated" funds, the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, and capital bonding appropriations.