Minnesota is poised to spend a record amount of money from state lottery proceeds next year — more than $100 million — to fund conservation efforts ranging from studying young, pregnant moose to replacing the Superior Hiking Trail’s most compromised foot bridges.
The broad slate of 124 outdoors projects across the state, including a closer look at the resiliency of different walleye strains in warming lakes, was overwhelmingly approved last week by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The grants adopted by the bipartisan, bicameral group will roll out in 2025 if approved by the Legislature.
“There’s probably something for everyone in this one,’’ said Rep. Rick Hansen, D-South St. Paul, a commission member and chair of the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee. “It’s very balanced and it follows the will of the voters.’’
Voters this fall overwhelmingly renewed dedicated lottery funding for the outdoors through LCCMR and the Legislature, a system that has delivered more than $1 billion to environmental projects since it began 36 years ago. LCCMR Director Becca Nash said the proposed spending of $103.3 million in 2025 from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund is the largest on record. The fund consists of state lottery proceeds and investment returns.
According to a summary of the proposal, about 20% of 2025 grant money will go to foundational research and data gathering while 18.6% will go for land acquisition, habitat and recreation. The biggest recipients are public colleges and universities, state government agencies and local or regional governments. Some 70% of the projects are designed to have statewide impact, 15.6% have regional impact and 11% affect the 11-county area around the Twin Cities, according to the summary.
Twenty-four of the proposed projects are in line to receive more than $1 million, including a collaborative moose study between the state Department of Natural Resources and the Duluth-based 1854 Treaty Authority, an intertribal natural resources program associated with Native hunting, fishing and gathering rights in northeastern Minnesota.
Morgan Swingen, wildlife biologist for the 1854 Treaty Authority, said the organizers have a lofty goal of capturing 80 moose per year for three years, skewed heavily toward young females. Starting in January or February of 2026, the moose will be fitted with global-positioning (GPS) collars and observed for their reproductive success — in this case a measure of how many young are born to a given cow.
The $2 million co-stewardship project with DNR’s Wildlife Health Group is the first in Minnesota to focus on the fertility of “teenage” moose cows. Understanding their reproductive success will provide new data for improved computer modeling of Minnesota’s moose population, Swingen said. The interest is high considering the state’s moose population 20 years ago was at least twice the size of today. For several years, moose numbers in the Arrowhead region have been holding steady around an average of 3,700.