Relating to natural resources

ARTICLE 1 - NATURAL RESOURCE POLICY

Authorizing commissioner of natural resources (DNR) to open or close bodies of water or portions for night bow fishing and specifying emergency conditions; shortening the wild rice season; regulating seizure and forfeiture of certain off-highway vehicles, prescribing criminal penalties, defining certain terms, providing for vehicle seizure by an appropriate agency and the right to possession, authorizing bond by owner for possession, providing for admissibility of evidence in criminal actions, specifying the judicial forfeiture procedure, providing for disposition of forfeited vehicle and sale by secured party, specifying certain redemption requirements, allowing minors to participate in special permit events for off-highway motorcycles on public lands; expanding the snowmobile trails grant-in-aid program to Devil Track and Hungry Jack lakes and additional lakes in Cook county; expanding all-terrain vehicle (ATV) engine capacity, permitting ATV travel in environmentally sensitive areas; extending the Casey Jones trail from Split Rock Creek state park southeasterly to Blue Mounds state park and then southerly to Luverne and Schoneman park in Rock county, establishing a state trail originating in Jackson county at the interstate border, connecting with the Dickinson trail, requiring the trail to follow the Des Moines river valley and to extend through Jackson county to Kilen Woods state park and through Cottonwood county into Murray county; providing for multiple vehicle state park permits; eliminating state park permit and fee requirements for the John A. Latsch state park and Greenleaf Lake state recreation area; exempting vehicles transporting K-12 students engaged in school district sanctioned activities at state parks from state park permit and fee charges; establishing state boater waysides for public use; modifying provisions relating to secondary authorization of the outdoor recreations system authorized wholly or partially within the boundaries of another unit; specifying watercraft behavior in the presence of a law enforcement watercraft with activated emergency lights; modifying penalty and appeals process for owners of dogs pursuing or killing wild game; authorizing the taking of wild animals by a licensed peace officer to protect public safety; expanding and modifying the composition of board of water and soil resources (BWSR); expanding wetlands public value determination to include carbon sequestration; modifying financial assistance match requirements for local government water resources protection and management program grants; modifying the soil and water conservation district cost-sharing contracts for erosion control and water management by removing the requirement for comprehensive and annual work plan completion, allowing cost-sharing funds use and rules adoption for water quantity problems due to altered hydrology, allowing soil and water conservation district board of supervisor contracts for water quantity improvements; modifying provisions relating to the reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) program, modifying purpose and policy and drained wetland and riparian land definitions, defining reinvest in Minnesota reserve program; modifying public water inventory provisions; approving the consumptive use of water under a permit in St. Louis county for snowmaking; specifying DNR wild rice harvest authority; providing a revisor of statutes instruction; appropriating money to the DNR for off-highway vehicle administrative forfeiture start-up costs; repealing certain DNR penalties, liquor service for John A. Latsch state park, DNR division of waters engineering work and protection of water resources technical assistance

ARTICLE 2 - GAME AND FISH POLICY

Providing for the classification of electronic licensing system data procured by department of natural resources (DNR) for the purpose of obtaining a noncommercial game and fish license, cross-country ski pass, horse trail pass, or snowmobile trail sticker for registering a motor vehicle or any other electronic licensing transaction as private data on individuals, providing for access to data under certain conditions; permitting commissioner of agriculture to determine aquatic farm (aquaculture) and private fish hatcheries fees without regard to administrative rulemaking; changing conditions and time restriction for department of natural resources (DNR) off-highway motorcycle, off-road vehicle, snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and watercraft (boat) registration refunds; requiring summaries of fish and game laws delivery to license vendors; modifying waterfowl feeding and resting areas restrictions; exempting certain wildlife management areas from local ordinances and limiting unit use and management; allowing portable bear stands to be left overnight in wildlife management areas; modifying certain restrictions on use of artificial lights (shining) to take wild animals with or without implements; modifying replacement license fees; adding fur bearing animals to convictions for violation of game and fish laws license voidability; modifying take a kid fishing weekend by lowering the age of eligibility; allowing angling in state parks without a license; allowing minors to net ciscoes and whitefish for consumption and residents 90 years of age and older to fish without a license; requiring commissioner of natural resources (DNR) to issue without fee an either-sex deer permit to residents with certain federal active military service (armed forces veterans), authorizing commissioner of natural resources (DNR) to issue lifetime spearing and lifetime angling and spearing licenses and sporting with spearing option licenses, specifying fees and requiring fees crediting to the lifetime fish and wildlife trust fund; modifying resident hunting by removing multizone and all season licensing; modifying nonresident hunting by removing multizone licensing; authorizing nonresidents to take fish by spearing from a dark house; including shelters under fish and dark houses regulations; authorizing commissioner to establish additional fees for private fish hatcheries; allowing non-resident wild animal transport by common carrier; removing the requirement for possession of crossbows and archery bows in cases or motor vehicle closed trunks; instructing commissioner of natural resources to issue a permit to allow a person with a physical disability to ride an all-terrain vehicle along certain trails; allowing unloaded and uncased firearm transport at shooting ranges in certain areas under certain conditions; allowing commissioner to issue lifetime permits to disabled hunters; modifying requirements for artificial light use to locate animals; clarifying prohibition on night vision equipment possession; allowing commissioner to authorize hunting from stationary motor vehicles; modifying the definition of deer bait or feed by removing bird feeder grains and nuts from the bait or feed definition exclusion under a baiting prohibition; prohibiting import and export of live coyotes; increasing time duration for decoys; modifying fishing contest requirements, requiring a boat count in place of person count, limiting contests without permits to rough fish and limiting total prize value for contests with and without permits, removing authorization for fee waiver, requiring commissioner to develop best practices management to ensure proper handling and release, to develop an online web based fishing contest permit application process, and to allow for live release weigh-ins at public accesses; prohibiting carp or buffalo return to water after netting; allowing nonresident fish or dark house spearing; removing the archery option for taking rough fish; specifying a bow fishing season and regulating bow fishing; clarifying the lake trout winter season in the boundary waters canoe area (BWCA); requiring commissioner of natural resources (DNR) to establish an elk management plan and requiring commissioner to present plan to the Kittson, Marshall and Roseau county boards, requiring commissioner to implement the plan; requiring commissioner to adopt and amend rules to establish minimum size limits for muskellunge on inland waters, specifying requirements; providing a temporary warning requirement for shining without implements to take wild animals and a zone 3 deer season and restrictions for 2009; appropriating money to the DNR for on-line fishing contest permit application process development and for let's go fishing of Minnesota for outreach purposes and specifying appropriation conditions; repealing a nonresident transportation of wild animals provision, the all season deer license, the sale of multiple or multiple season licenses and muskellunge size limits

ARTICLE 3 - STATE LAND ADMINISTRATION

Providing for certain private sales to resolve trespass issues affecting the
ownership interests of the state and adjacent landowners and specifying certain duties of commissioner of natural resources (DNR); authorizing commissioner to acquire perpetual conservation buffer easements from willing sellers on behalf of state and federal government consistent with Camp Ripley army compatible use buffer project; authorizing affected county boards, cities, or towns to petition commissioner to attend public hearings upon state park designated boundary change proposal; renaming the Northshore trail the C.J. Ramstad memorial trail; permitting local governments to issue conditional use permits in certain wild and scenic river districts; modifying certain land leases and use requirements for timber sales on tax-forfeited lands; authorizing commissioner to lease lands for the Iron Range off-highway vehicle recreation areas; modifying certain previous sale authorizations and land descriptions from the Lake Shetek state park in Murray county and the Moose Lake state park in Carlton county; adding certain areas to the Fort Snelling state park in Ramsey, Hennepin and Dakota counties and the Mille Lacs Kathio state park in Mille Lacs county and deleting certain areas from the Lake Bemidji state park in Beltrami county and the Great River Bluffs state park in Winona county; requiring commissioner to enter into a lease with the Mountain Iron economic development authority for installation of up to a certain number of wind turbines and access roads; requiring commissioner to grant easements across state land to private landowners on Bass Bay on Lake Vermilion to access Mud Creek road (county highway #408) requiring the commissioner to work with commissioner of veterans affairs to locate sites throughout the state appropriate for a new veterans cemetery; requiring commissioner of natural resources (DNR) to provide for appropriate signage for the C.J. Ramstad/Northshore trail

ARTICLE 4 - LAND SALES

Authorizing public and private sales of certain surplus and tax-forfeited state lands, authorizing and providing for the private sale of certain surplus state lands bordering public water in Washington, Hennepin and Todd counties, the private sale of certain surplus state land in Anoka, Clearwater, Fillmore, Hennepin, Murray, and Washington counties, the public sale of certain surplus state land bordering public water in Aitkin, Beltrami, Cass, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, St. Louis, Sherburne, and Washington counties, the private sale of certain tax-forfeited land in St. Louis county, the public or private sale of certain tax-forfeited lands bordering public water in St. Louis county, the public sale of certain tax-forfeited land bordering public water in Kittson county, the conveyance of certain tax-forfeited land bordering public water in Red Lake county; providing Eagan with the authority to exchange land in Dakota county; providing for the apportionment of proceeds from certain tax-forfeited lands in Itasca county sold to Minnesota Steel Industries

ARTICLE 5 - FOREST AND TIMBER MANAGEMENT

Requiring commissioner of natural resources (DNR) to increase timber sales
based on appraised value only; authorizing commissioner to enter into a forest management lease pilot project, specifying an acreage limitation, clarifying commissioner reporting requirements
(Ch. 176, 2009)