REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. - Some of Minnesota's treasured natural resources could benefit from President Obama's just-released final version of the America's Great Outdoors initiative.

Unveiled after months of public hearings in Minnesota and around the country, the plan outlines goals for improving land and water conservation and access to outdoor recreation.

Amy Kober, communications director for American Rivers, says rivers are at the heart of America's Great Outdoors, and efforts around developing "blueways" - also known as water trails - are a key initiative outlined in the report.

"The Minnesota River Trail and other water trail efforts across the state could get a boost when it comes to resources for improving these trails, enhancing and expanding them."

The Minnesota River stretches from Ortonville, near the South Dakota border, to where it meets the Mississippi near Fort Snelling. Brad Cobb, program manager for Green Corridor in Redwood Falls, says his group has anxiously been awaiting the report, and what it could mean for communities along the Minnesota River Valley.

"The DNR (Department of Natural Resources) and the state have designated the Minnesota River as a waterway trail. It's one thing to have a designation as a water trail, but it's certainly another thing to have it as a fully integrated system. That's where both state and federal funding could benefit the completion of this waterway system."

Cobb says developing an integrated system along the river opens up outdoor-recreational tourism opportunities such as canoeing, fishing and hunting, and could bring much-needed economic benefits to rural communities. He adds that waterways also add to the health and quality of life on which people in Minnesota depend.

"Minnesotans try to strive for a balance in their life when it comes to our jobs, our families, our educational systems. We also have to have a place where we can go out and enjoy the outdoors and to recreate, and to live healthy lives."

Kober says proposed cuts in Congress would slash clean-water safeguards, which could hamper the goals the Great American Outdoors initiative is trying to achieve.

"We can't have our children swimming in sewage. We don't want polluted water flowing out of our faucets. And so Congress needs to reject these proposed cuts and these loopholes that would make our rivers unsafe for drinking water and recreation."

President Obama said open spaces are more precious than ever when he unveiled the initiative details, and said it's important to come together as a nation to protect those resources for the next generation.

The president's plan is outlined online at americasgreatoutdoors.gov. Information on the group American Rivers is at amrivers.org, and more on Green Corridor is at tatankabluffs.com/about-us/green-corridor.


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This month, the federal government announced funding for next year's wildfire management, totaling $236 million and experts hope threatened communities in Wyoming receive some of the funds.

Money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be used to help reduce wildfire risk, improve firefighter training, rehabilitate burned areas and advance research, according to the Interior Department. The focus areas are partly based on a report last year by the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, with 148 recommendations on how the U.S. can approach fires more effectively.

Kimiko Barrett, wildfire researcher and policy analyst for the nonprofit research group Headwaters Economics and a member of the commission, said the recommendations build off one another but the federal government has focused on some more than others.

"It's not surprising that some of the policy is cherry-picking those recommendations that seem to be easiest or more reasonable, given the time constraints of the current administration," Barrett asserted.

The U.S. House of Representatives will consider a bipartisan bill this month, called the "Fix Our Forests Act." It could adjust permitting under the National Environmental Protection Act to make wildfire prevention projects happen faster, among other changes.

Most wildfire management is supported at the federal level, through agencies that manage public lands, as well as state foresters and natural resource managers.

Barrett notes communities are often the first line of defense when a fire ignites.

"Communities and counties need to be additionally empowered and provided the funding, the resources, the technical assistance, to be able to have more ownership over becoming more resilient," Barrett contended.

Barrett added the protection of the built environment is especially important to communities, including home and neighborhood infrastructure.


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A sanctuary for stargazing in Oregon is the largest in the world and is set to get even bigger.

In eastern Oregon, the organization DarkSky International declared 2.5 million acres of the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary in the first phase of its process in March. It plans to increase the sanctuary to more than 11 million acres in the next few years.

Damon Motz-Storey, director of the Oregon chapter of the Sierra Club, recently visited the area.

"Anybody who's visited it on a clear summer night or otherwise will agree that it is very spectacular," Motz-Storey observed. "It's a very unique and amazing place to stargaze and get into astronomy."

Motz-Storey pointed out the area is far from urban centers like Portland and Boise, and is sparsely populated. It is estimated more than 2.5 times as many stars are visible than in urban areas. DarkSky International has designated sanctuaries since 2007 and the Oregon Outback is the first in the state.

Motz-Storey emphasized protecting dark areas is good for wildlife and humans alike because both are affected by artificial lighting.

"These kinds of designations help to spread awareness around people preserving the dark sky for both wildlife and human enjoyment," Motz-Storey stressed. "And also to serve as a little bit of a warning signal to future development to say, hey, this is really worth preserving."

Within the Oregon Outback is an area known as the Owyhee Canyonlands. However, Motz-Storey noted Congress has been unable to pass protections for the unique landscape. A coalition of organizations, including Motz-Storey's, are pushing the Biden administration to declare it a national monument.

"That would pair very nicely with this dark sky designation and help to protect everything that's on the ground around the Owyhee Canyonlands, which is just as special as the sky you look up at," Motz-Storey contended.

A new poll indicates strong support for protections of the West's greater sage-grouse. The results come as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management considers a plan for improving conservation of the bird. BLM is reviewing public comments on its draft environmental impact statement for amending and strengthening sage grouse protections. The agency has plenty of public support for this: a poll commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts found 93% of people surveyed back the BLM's efforts to protect the bird and its habitat.

Tyler Dungannon, conservation coordinator with Oregon Hunters Association, said many support even greater protections.

"In the Western U.S., roughly 70% favored restricting some development of specific public lands to ensure long term habitat protections for sage grouse," he explained.

The poll also found that nearly 60% of respondents say sage grouse conservation efforts boost economic development. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife data from 2019 says hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing fueled $1.2 billion in spending in the state.

Josh Collins, a retired landscape ecologist in Bend, said there are positives to BLM's plans for conserving sage grouse, including the expansion of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern for the bird and the agency elevating conservation as one of is priorities on public lands. But he added that there's also room for improvement, such as a focus on ensuring sage grouse chicks have wildflowers to feed on in their first few weeks of life.

"One of the things missing in the BLM report and almost every other state or federal report concerning the sage grouse is a focus on the dietary needs of the chicks and the brood hens," he continued.

Collins adds that bringing back the sage grouse means bringing back wildflowers in the region, which will benefit other species.

"Young pronghorn benefit from that, they eat wildflowers. And, of course, the pygmy rabbit does. Many birds are feeding on the insects that are attracted by the wildflowers. So, the wildflower is kind of a missing piece of the foundation of the ecological health for the whole system," he said.


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