Last Sunday I wrote about the need for a stronger and more unified conservation voice in Minnesota as a means to push back against legislative and other assaults on the state's lands and waters. Minnesotans care about the state's woods, prairies and wildlife, I said. But their considerable goodwill for land and water stewardship isn't leveraged often enough in a common effort by the state's conservation and environment groups, which instead too frequently focus on their individual agendas. A sample of letters I received in response to the column follows:
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Nothing important will get done in Minnesota if the various conservation, environment and wildlife groups don't join forces to fight for what's left.
They have far more in common than divides them.
Dan Wilm, Pequot Lakes
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I wonder if a natural resource-based legislative watchdog could be formed that tracked Capitol shenanigans and forwarded the information to the state's outdoor groups. The information then could be shared with the groups' members, as needed.
Most legislators just want to keep their jobs and don't have a clue about environment degradation. In the end it's not about ducks, deer, moose or fish. It's about sedimentation, degradation of water quality, increasing demand on our resources and loss of natural areas.
Phil Vieth, Hastings
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I'm a musician and something of an outdoorsman who is increasingly concerned about the state's environment.