Our Issues
Our Issues
The MLR PAC is unique because it promotes values instead of a specific, narrow policy agenda focused on a specific outcome – what has come to be known as a “special interest.” As issues arise, the MLR PAC supports candidates who understand and share the value of clean and healthy aquatic ecosystems as a critical component of any policy solution to the issue.
Lakeshore Property Taxes:
Most people don’t think that lakeshore property taxes affect water quality. However, high lakeshore property taxes can drive lake home and cabin owners, most of whom are on a fixed income, to sell, subdivide and/or redevelop their properties. The new properties tend to feature suburban-style lawns that replace natural forests and native buffer zones. In 2000, the average seasonal lot was 78 acres. Just seven years later it was down to 40 acres. This shift explains the increased runoff pollution, loss of natural habitat, degraded water quality, and reduced biological diversity that researchers are documenting in Minnesota’s lakes and rivers. In turn, decreases in water quality and clarity can erode property values by as much as 30% (Mississippi Headwaters Board and Bemidji State University), so high shoreline property tax pressure risks local community stability and way of life.
Natural Shorelines
Natural shorelines capture runoff pollution, which degrades water quality and increases algae blooms. Natural shorelines also provide habitat for loons, turtles, pollinators, and countless other species. Shoreline regulations throughout the state have proven inadequate. Over half of the state’s natural shoreline has been lost to overdevelopment and the rate of natural shoreline loss is estimated to be 1 to 2% per decade (Minnesota’s Vanishing Natural Shorelines Whitepaper). Statewide regulations haven’t been updated since the 1980s, so the time to enact better protections is now. Additionally, more funding is needed to incentivise shoreline restoration because money spent preventing runoff pollution can save lake associations, local governments and the state money on treatments for invasive aquatic plants and harmful algae blooms (HABs).
Aquatic Invasive Species
Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are not just bad for lakes and rivers, they are destructive to Minnesota’s outdoor economy, estimated to be worth around $13.5 billion each year (Explore MN). Aquatic invasive species damage fish habitat and spawning grounds, outcompete native plants, and impede recreational boating. Additionally, preventing new infestations is far less costly than managing existing ones, so each dollar of state funding for aquatic invasive species prevention is money well spent—preserving not just the state’s ecosystems but also its outdoor economy.
Water Quality
Water quality in our lakes and rivers affects property values, biodiversity, and recreation. Right now, 56% of our waters are listed as impaired by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. While there are many entities in Minnesota that monitor water quality, most aren’t sharing their data with each other or effectively communicating their findings to the general public. Those barriers must be removed to more effectively govern water.
Funding Lake and River Management
One common theme across issues is that funding for water initiatives must be rethought. Lakeshore property owners pay over $8 million annually managing lakes and stocking fish. That’s like telling someone who lives near a state park that they are required to pay for buckthorn removal or tree plantings out-of-pocket. It simply doesn’t make sense. This is poor public policy.
Those living in lakeside communities know what they need, and they know which issues their waters face. State agencies lack the capacity and time to determine what is wrong with every lake and they often lack the relationships needed to accomplish work on the ground or shift systems. That’s why funding for county and local government initiatives is money well spent, we should be letting the people with the most local knowledge decide how funds are spent, not state agency staff.
The County AIS Prevention Aid is a great model for this program. Prevention funding is allotted to counties based on their need, and people on the ground like county employees or lake associations can decide where it is used. This has resulted in a steep decline in new AIS infestations each year.