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CHAPTER 84A. LANDS DEDICATED FOR CONSERVATION

Table of Sections
Section Headnote
RED LAKE GAME PRESERVE
84A.01 RED LAKE GAME PRESERVE.
84A.02 DEPARTMENT TO MANAGE PRESERVE.
84A.03 RED LAKE GAME PRESERVE FUND.
84A.04 [Repealed, 2014 c 290 s 70]
84A.05 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]
84A.06 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]
84A.07 PRESERVE LANDS TO BE HELD BY STATE.
84A.08 [Repealed, 2014 c 290 s 70]
84A.09 GIFTS RECEIVED.
84A.10 EMINENT DOMAIN.
84A.101 RULE VIOLATION; MISDEMEANOR.
84A.11 [Repealed, 2014 c 290 s 70]
REFORESTATION AREAS AND PROJECTS, 1931
84A.20 COUNTY ACTION TO SET OFF AREAS.
84A.21 DEPARTMENT TO MANAGE PROJECTS.
84A.22 DISPOSAL OF PROCEEDS.
84A.23 COUNTY AUDITOR TO CERTIFY TAX-DELINQUENT LANDS.
84A.24 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]
84A.25 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]
84A.26 PROJECT LANDS TO BE HELD BY STATE.
84A.27 PROJECT LANDS CLASSIFIED.
84A.28 DEPARTMENT TO ACCEPT GIFTS.
84A.29 EMINENT DOMAIN.
84A.30 RULES VIOLATION A MISDEMEANOR.
REFORESTATION AREAS AND PROJECTS, 1933
84A.31 STATE REFORESTATION PROJECTS.
84A.32 DEPARTMENT TO MANAGE PROJECTS.
84A.33 COUNTY AUDITORS TO CERTIFY TAX-DELINQUENT LANDS.
84A.34 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]
84A.35 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]
84A.36 LANDS TO BE HELD BY STATE.
84A.37 COMMISSIONER OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET TO CERTIFY LIST TO DEPARTMENT.
84A.38 DEPARTMENT TO ACCEPT GIFTS.
84A.39 EMINENT DOMAIN.
84A.40 COUNTY MAY ASSUME BONDS.
84A.41 DEFINITIONS.
84A.42 RULES VIOLATION; MISDEMEANOR.
FINANCES
84A.50 CERTAIN CERTIFICATES ACCEPTED AND VALIDATED.
84A.51 CONSOLIDATED CONSERVATION AREAS ACCOUNT.
84A.52 ACCOUNTS; EXAMINATION, APPROPRIATION, PAYMENT.
84A.53 RECEIPTS NOT CREDITED TO CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT.
84A.54 COLLECTIONS DEPOSITED IN CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT.
ADMINISTRATION
84A.55 COMMISSIONER'S CONTROL OF CONSERVATION LANDS.
84A.56 CONSOLIDATED CONSERVATION LAND ACQUISITION AND DISPOSITION.
84A.57 CERTAIN TAX-FORFEITED LAND HELD IN TRUST FOR COUNTY.

RED LAKE GAME PRESERVE

84A.01 RED LAKE GAME PRESERVE.

There is created a state wildlife preserve and hunting ground to be known as the Red Lake Game Preserve. It is created for the purpose of vesting and revesting the state with title to lands in the area that are suitable primarily for state use and development for the purpose of preserving, protecting, propagating, and breeding wildlife of all suitable kinds, including all species of game and fish and fur-bearing animals and birds of rare and useful species, and for the development of forests and prevention of forest fires, and the preservation and development of rare and distinctive plant species native in the area. It includes all lands and waters in Lake of the Woods County lying south of Rainy River, and south of Lake of the Woods, and all full and fractional townships in Beltrami County lying north of the north line of Township 151, excluding the lands and waters within Red Lake Indian Reservation. It also includes the part of Koochiching County lying west and northwesterly of the following line:

Beginning at a point where the range line between Ranges 26 and 27 west of the fifth principal meridian intersects the southerly bank of Rainy River; thence south on this range line to the point formed by the intersection of this range line with the easterly boundary line of the original Red Lake Indian Reservation; thence southwesterly along the easterly boundary line of the original Red Lake Indian Reservation to a point formed by the intersection of the boundary line with the range line between Ranges 29 and 30 west of the fifth principal meridian.

84A.02 DEPARTMENT TO MANAGE PRESERVE.

(a) The Department of Natural Resources shall manage and control the Red Lake Game Preserve. The department may adopt and enforce rules for the care, preservation, protection, breeding, propagation, and disposition of all species of wildlife in the preserve. The department may adopt and enforce rules for the regulation, issuance, sale, and revocation of special licenses or special permits for hunting, fishing, camping, and other uses of this area, consistent with sections 84A.01 to 84A.101. The department may by rule set the terms, conditions, and charges for these licenses and permits.

(b) The rules may specify and control the terms under which wildlife may be taken, captured, or killed in the preserve, and under which fur-bearing animals, or animals and fish otherwise having commercial value, may be taken, captured, trapped, killed, sold, and removed from it. These rules may also provide for (1) the afforestation and reforestation of state lands in the preserve, (2) the sale of merchantable timber from these lands when, in the opinion of the department, it can be sold and removed without damage or injury to the further use and development of the land for wildlife and game in the preserve, and (3) the purposes for which the preserve is established by sections 84A.01 to 84A.101.

(c) The department may provide for the policing of the preserve as necessary for its proper development and use for the purposes specified. The commissioner of natural resources may employ and designate individuals according to section 84.0835 to enforce laws governing the use of the preserve.

(d) The department shall also adopt and enforce rules concerning the burning of grass, timber slashings, and other flammable matter, and the clearing, development, and use of lands in the preserve as necessary to prevent forest fires and grass fires that would injure the use and development of this area for wildlife preservation and propagation and to protect its forest and wooded areas.

(e) Lands within the preserve are subject to the rules, whether owned by the state or privately, consistent with the rights of the private owners and with applicable state law. The rules may establish areas and zones within the preserve where hunting, fishing, trapping, or camping is prohibited or specially regulated, to protect and propagate particular wildlife in the preserve.

(f) Rules adopted under sections 84A.01 to 84A.101 must be posted on the boundaries of the preserve.

84A.03 RED LAKE GAME PRESERVE FUND.

The Red Lake Game Preserve fund is created. The following funds must be paid into the state treasury and credited to the fund and are annually appropriated for the purposes of sections 84A.01 to 84A.101:

(1) the proceeds of certificates of indebtedness issued under sections 84A.01 to 84A.101;

(2) money received from redemption, as provided in those sections;

(3) money received as gifts to the state for the care, preservation, improvement, and maintenance of the preserve;

(4) income from the operation, development, management, and use of the preserve, including fees for licenses and permits;

(5) income from the sale of birds, animals, fish, and plants from the preserve, and from the sale of lands and timber owned by the state within the area, other than university, school, and swamp lands, state forest lands set apart under the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, section 11, and state lands acquired under the system of rural credit; and

(6) state money transferred to the preserve under state law.

84A.04 [Repealed, 2014 c 290 s 70]
84A.05 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]
84A.06 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]

84A.07 PRESERVE LANDS TO BE HELD BY STATE.

The title to parcels of land within the preserve, except lands within the boundaries of any incorporated city, that are acquired by the state under Laws 1927, chapter 119, as amended, is held by the state, free from the trust in favor of the taxing districts specified in that chapter. Title must be held and used, or disposed of, in accordance with sections 84A.01 to 84A.101.

84A.08 [Repealed, 2014 c 290 s 70]

84A.09 GIFTS RECEIVED.

The department may receive for the state and acknowledge any gifts, bequests, devises, or grants of land or interests in lands in the preserve, or of money or personal property of any kind, that it considers suitable for use in connection with the operation, control, development, or use of the preserve.

84A.10 EMINENT DOMAIN.

The department has the power of eminent domain in chapter 117. The department may acquire, by eminent domain or by purchase, lands or interests in lands in the preserve that the department considers necessary for state ownership, use, or development for the purposes of sections 84A.01 to 84A.101.

84A.101 RULE VIOLATION; MISDEMEANOR.

Any person who, within the limits of the preserve, willfully violates a rule of the department, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

84A.11 [Repealed, 2014 c 290 s 70]

REFORESTATION AREAS AND PROJECTS, 1931

84A.20 COUNTY ACTION TO SET OFF AREAS.

Subdivision 1.Purposes.

The powers in this section are granted for the purpose of:

(1) vesting and revesting the state with title to lands suitable primarily for the development of forests and the prevention of forest fires, and for experimenting in and practically advancing afforestation and reforestation;

(2) impounding, controlling, and regulating the waters of meandered lakes and the flow of natural streams in the state; or

(3) other state purposes.

Subd. 2.County proposal to state.

The board of county commissioners of any county may by resolution propose to the state that one or more areas in the county be taken over by the state for afforestation, reforestation, flood control projects, or other state purposes. The projects are to be managed, controlled, and used for the purposes in subdivision 1 on lands to be acquired by the state within the projects, as set forth in sections 84A.20 to 84A.30. The county board may propose this if the county contains lands suitable for the purposes in subdivision 1.

The area taken over must include lands that have been assessed for all or part of the cost of the establishment and construction of public drainage ditches under state law, and on which the assessments or installments are delinquent. A certified copy of the county board's resolution must be filed with the department and considered and acted upon by the department. If approved by the department, it must then be submitted to, considered, and acted upon by the executive council. If approved by the Executive Council, the proposition must be formally accepted by the governor. Acceptance must be communicated in writing to and filed with the county auditor.

Subd. 3.Definitions.

State lands that have been sold as provided by law and for which certificates of sale have been issued are taxable lands within the meaning of this section. If the taxes against the lands or the interest of the purchaser in them are delinquent, they are delinquent within the meaning of subdivision 2 until the title of the certificate holder has been terminated by the commissioner in accordance with section 92.16.

84A.21 DEPARTMENT TO MANAGE PROJECTS.

(a) The department shall manage and control each project approved and accepted under section 84A.20. The department may adopt and enforce rules for the purposes in section 84A.20, subdivision 1, for the prevention of forest fires in the projects, and for the sale of merchantable timber from lands so acquired by the state when, in the opinion of the department, the timber may be sold and removed without damage to the project.

(b) These rules may relate to the care, preservation, protection, breeding, propagation, and disposition of any species of wildlife in the project and the regulation, issuance, sale, and revocation of special licenses or special permits for hunting, fishing, camping, and other uses of the areas consistent with applicable state law.

(c) The department may provide for the policing of each project as needed for the proper development, use, and protection of the project and its purposes. The commissioner of natural resources may employ and designate individuals according to section 84.0835 to enforce laws governing the use of the projects.

(d) Lands within a project are subject to these rules, whether owned by the state or privately, consistent with the rights of the private owners or with applicable state law. The rules must be published once in one qualified newspaper in each county affected and take effect after publication. They must also be posted on the boundaries of each project affected.

84A.22 DISPOSAL OF PROCEEDS.

The following funds must be paid to the state treasury, credited to the project to which they pertain and are annually appropriated to its purposes:

(1) the proceeds of all certificates of indebtedness issued under sections 84A.20 to 84A.30;

(2) money received from redemption, as provided in sections 84A.22 to 84A.30;

(3) money received as gifts to the state for the purposes of any project;

(4) income from the operation, development, management, and use of these projects, including fees from licenses and permits;

(5) income received from the sale of all birds, animals, fish, and plants from the projects and from the sale of lands and timber owned by the state within the area, other than university, school, and swamp lands, state forest lands set apart under the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, section 11, and state lands acquired under the system of rural credit; and

(6) state money transferred to the project under state law.

Under sections 84A.20 to 84A.30, the aggregate of all certificates of indebtedness issued must not exceed $2,250,000.

84A.23 COUNTY AUDITOR TO CERTIFY TAX-DELINQUENT LANDS.

Subdivision 1.First report.

As soon as practicable after the approval and acceptance of a project, the auditor of each county where the project is situated shall certify to the commissioner of management and budget a list of lands within the project, except lands within the boundaries of a city, that have been bid in for the state at the delinquent tax sale held in 1928 for the nonpayment of taxes or special drainage assessments and not redeemed or assigned to an actual purchaser. The certificate must contain:

(1) the legal description of each parcel of the lands;

(2) the amount of the principal and interest of delinquent drainage assessments, if any, or installments of assessments for all years before the date of the report against each parcel of land; and

(3) the amount of drainage assessments assessed against each parcel of land, that have been or are to be extended on the county tax rolls for collection with the taxes for 1927 and later years.

Subd. 2.Supplemental reports.

On or before June 15 of each year after the report, the county auditor shall certify to the commissioner of management and budget a supplemental report giving the information contained in the original report covering the lands within each project bid in for the state at the annual tax sale of that year and not included in the previous reports.

Subd. 3.Redemption or lien assignment; proceeds.

When redemption is made of any parcel of the land within a project that has been bid in for the state at a tax sale for taxes levied before April 25, 1931, or when tax liens on these lands are assigned to an actual purchaser, the county auditor shall report the fact to the commissioner of management and budget, and the county treasurer shall send the proceeds of the redemption or assignment to the commissioner of management and budget.

Subd. 4.Drainage ditch bonds; reports.

(a) Immediately after a project is approved and accepted and then after each distribution of the tax collections on the June and November tax settlements, the county auditor shall certify to the commissioner of management and budget the following information relating to bonds issued to finance or refinance public drainage ditches wholly or partly within the projects, and the collection of assessments levied on account of the ditches:

(1) the amount of principal and interest to become due on the bonds before the next tax settlement and distribution;

(2) the amount of money collected from the drainage assessments and credited to the funds of the ditches; and

(3) the amount of the deficit in the ditch fund of the county chargeable to the ditches.

(b) On approving the certificate, the commissioner of management and budget shall draw a warrant, payable out of the fund pertaining to the project, for the amount of the deficit in favor of the county.

(c) As to public drainage ditches wholly within a project, the amount of money paid to or for the benefit of the county under paragraph (b) must never exceed the principal and interest of the bonds issued to finance or refinance the ditches outstanding at the time of the passage and approval of sections 84A.20 to 84A.30, less money on hand in the county ditch fund to the credit of the ditches. The liabilities must be reduced from time to time by the amount of all payments of assessments after April 25, 1931, made by the owners of lands assessed before that date for benefits on account of the ditches.

(d) As to public drainage ditches partly within and partly outside a project, the amount paid from the fund pertaining to the project to or for the benefit of the county must never exceed a certain percentage of bonds issued to finance and refinance the ditches so outstanding, less money on hand in the county ditch fund to the credit of the ditches on April 25, 1931. The percentage must bear the same proportion to the whole amount of these bonds as the original benefits assessed against lands within the project bear to the original total benefits assessed to the entire system of the ditches. This liability shall be reduced from time to time by the payments of all assessments extended after April 25, 1931, made by the owners of lands within the project of assessments for benefits assessed before that date on account of a ditch.

(e) The commissioner of management and budget may provide and prescribe forms for reports required by sections 84A.20 to 84A.30 and require any additional information from county officials that the commissioner of management and budget considers necessary for the proper administration of sections 84A.20 to 84A.30.

84A.24 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]
84A.25 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]

84A.26 PROJECT LANDS TO BE HELD BY STATE.

The title to parcels of land within a project, except lands within the boundaries of a city, that are acquired by the state under Laws 1927, chapter 119, as amended, must be held by the state free from the trust in favor of the taxing districts specified in that chapter. Title must be held and used or disposed of in accordance with sections 84A.20 to 84A.30.

84A.27 PROJECT LANDS CLASSIFIED.

On receiving the reports of the county auditor specified in section 84A.23, the commissioner of management and budget shall certify a copy of the report to the department. The department shall classify the lands as to their suitability for agriculture or for afforestation, reforestation, or for the purpose of impounding, controlling, and regulating the waters of meandered lakes and the flow of natural streams, or for other state purposes. After the state acquires title to the lands as provided in sections 84A.20 to 84A.30, they may be reclassified. Lands that become the absolute property of the state under sections 84A.20 to 84A.30 and have been classified as suitable for agriculture, and timber from any lands so acquired, may be sold by the state.

84A.28 DEPARTMENT TO ACCEPT GIFTS.

The department may receive for the state and acknowledge any gift, bequest, devise, or grant of land or interests in lands in a project, or of money or personal property of any kind, that it considers suitable for use in connection with the operation, control, development, or use of projects.

84A.29 EMINENT DOMAIN.

The department has the power of eminent domain in chapter 117. The department may acquire by eminent domain or by purchase, lands or interests in lands in any project that the department considers necessary for state ownership, use, or development for the purposes of sections 84A.20 to 84A.30. No money shall be used to acquire land or interest in it until the department and the commissioner of management and budget determine that the money will not be required to meet the requisitions of the counties authorized under section 84A.23 or to pay certificates of indebtedness and their interest provided for in section 84A.23.

84A.30 RULES VIOLATION A MISDEMEANOR.

Within the limits of a project, a willful violation of a rule of the department adopted under sections 84A.20 to 84A.30 is a misdemeanor.

REFORESTATION AREAS AND PROJECTS, 1933

84A.31 STATE REFORESTATION PROJECTS.

Subdivision 1.Purposes.

The powers in this section are granted for the purpose of:

(1) vesting and revesting the state with title to lands suitable primarily for the development of forests and prevention of forest fires, and for experimenting in and practically advancing afforestation and reforestation;

(2) impounding, controlling, and regulating the water of meandered lakes and the flow of natural streams of the state;

(3) creating and establishing wild game and fishing reserves; or

(4) any other public state purpose.

Subd. 2.County proposal to state.

The board of county commissioners of any county may by resolution propose that the state take over part of the tax-delinquent lands in the county if the county contains land suitable for the purposes in subdivision 1.

Subd. 3.Form.

Specifically, the board may propose that any "area in the county consisting of one or more townships, or part of any township, containing such lands be taken over by the state for afforestation, reforestation, flood control projects, wild game and fishing reserves, or other public state purpose, to be managed, controlled, and used for the development of forests and prevention of forest fires, and for the purpose of experimenting in and practically advancing afforestation, reforestation, or for the purpose of impounding, controlling, and regulating the waters of meandered lakes and the flow of natural streams, or for the purpose of creating and establishing wild game and fishing reserves, or for either or any such purposes," or for any other public state purpose, on lands to be acquired by the state within such projects, as set forth in this section. Each area must include lands assessed for all or part of the cost of the establishment, construction, or repair of public drainage ditches under state law, and on which the assessments or installments on them are delinquent.

Subd. 4.Action on resolutions.

A copy of the resolutions must be filed with the department and considered and acted upon by the department. If approved by the department, it must then be submitted to, considered, and acted upon by the Executive Council. If approved by the Executive Council, the proposition must be formally accepted by the governor. Acceptance must be communicated in writing to and filed with the auditor of the county.

Subd. 5.Definitions.

State school, swamp, indemnity, and institutional lands that are sold as provided by law and for which certificates of sale have been issued at the time of the passage of the resolution by the county board, and lands owned by the conservator of rural credit are taxable lands within the meaning of this section. If the taxes or ditch lien installments on the lands or the interest of the purchaser in them are delinquent, they are lands on which the taxes are delinquent within the meaning of subdivision 2.

84A.32 DEPARTMENT TO MANAGE PROJECTS.

Subdivision 1.Rules.

(a) The department shall manage and control each project approved and accepted under section 84A.31. The department may adopt and enforce rules for the purposes in section 84A.31, subdivision 1, for the prevention of forest fires in the projects, and for the sale of merchantable timber from lands acquired by the state in the projects when, in the opinion of the department, the timber may be sold and removed without damage to the purposes of the projects. Rules must not interfere with, destroy, or damage any privately owned property without just compensation being made to the owner of the private property by purchase or in lawful condemnation proceedings. The rules may relate to the care, preservation, protection, breeding, propagation, and disposition of any species of wildlife in the projects and the regulation, issuance, sale, and revocation of special licenses or special permits for hunting, fishing, camping, or other uses of these areas consistent with applicable state law.

(b) The department may provide for the policing of each project as necessary for the proper development, use, and protection of the project, and of its purpose. The commissioner of natural resources may employ and designate individuals according to section 84.0835 to enforce laws governing the use of the projects.

(c) Lands within the project are subject to these rules, whether owned by the state, or privately, consistent with the constitutional rights of the private owners or with applicable state law. The department may exclude from the operation of the rules any lands owned by private individuals upon which taxes are delinquent for three years or less. Rules must be published once in the official newspaper of each county affected and take effect 30 days after publication. They must also be posted on each of the four corners of each township of each project affected.

(d) In the management, operation, and control of areas taken for afforestation, reforestation, flood control projects, and wild game and fishing reserves, nothing shall be done that will in any manner obstruct or interfere with the operation of ditches or drainage systems existing within the areas, or damage or destroy existing roads or highways within these areas or projects, unless the ditches, drainage systems, roads, or highways are first taken under the power of eminent domain and compensation made to the property owners and municipalities affected and damaged. Each area or project shall contribute from the funds of the project, in proportion of the state land within the project, for the construction and maintenance of roads and highways necessary within the areas and projects to give the settlers and private owners within them access to their land. The department may construct and maintain roads and highways within the areas and projects as it considers necessary.

Subd. 2.Proceeds paid into state treasury.

The following funds must be paid to the state treasury and credited to the projects to which they pertain and are annually appropriated for its purposes:

(1) the proceeds of certificates of indebtedness issued under sections 84A.31 to 84A.42;

(2) money received from redemption as provided in sections 84A.33 to 84A.42;

(3) money received as gifts to the state for the purpose of projects;

(4) income from the operation, development, management, and use of projects, including fees received from the sale of birds, animals, fish, and plants from the projects, and the sale of all lands and timber on them owned by the state within the area, other than university, school, swamp, indemnity, or institutional lands, and state forests set apart under the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, section 11, and state lands acquired under the system of rural credit; and

(5) state money transferred to the projects under state law.

Under sections 84A.31 to 84A.42, the total of all certificates of indebtedness issued must not exceed $750,000.

84A.33 COUNTY AUDITORS TO CERTIFY TAX-DELINQUENT LANDS.

Subdivision 1.First report.

As soon as practicable after the approval and acceptance of a project, the auditor of each county where the project is situated shall certify to the commissioner of management and budget a list of lands within the project, except lands within the boundaries of an incorporated city, upon which taxes are delinquent for three years or more, which have been bid in for the state at any delinquent tax sale, and not redeemed or assigned to any actual purchaser. The certificates must contain:

(1) the legal description of each parcel of the land; and

(2) the name and number of the ditch and the amount of the principal and interest of each delinquent drainage assessment as it appears on the county tax books for all years before the date of the certificate against each parcel of land, together with interest on the amount at six percent annually since the due date of the installment.

Subd. 2.Further annual reports.

On or before June 15 in each year after the report, the county auditor shall certify to the commissioner of management and budget a list of lands within the boundaries of a project, except lands within the boundaries of a city, and except lands described in any previous certificate, and upon which taxes are delinquent for three years or more and which have been bid in for the state at any delinquent tax sale and not redeemed or assigned to an actual purchaser. The certificate must contain:

(1) The legal description of each parcel of the land, contained in an earlier certificate upon which all taxes have been redeemed.

(2) The legal description of each parcel of the lands which, on May 14 of the year when the certificate is furnished, is delinquent for three years or more.

(3) The name and number of the ditch and the amount of the principal and interest of each delinquent ditch assessment installment as it appears on the county tax books for all years before the date of the certificate against each parcel of land, together with interest on the amount at an annual rate of six percent since the due date of each installment. The certificate must not contain the delinquent drainage assessment installments included in any certificate furnished earlier.

Subd. 3.Drainage assessments; report when paid or assigned.

When the delinquent drainage assessment installment on any parcel of land included in a certificate of the county auditor is redeemed, paid, or assigned to any person, the county auditor shall report the fact to the commissioner of management and budget. The county treasurer shall pay the commissioner of management and budget the amount paid in the county treasury on account of the delinquent drainage assessment installments.

Subd. 4.Ditch bonds; funds; payments to counties.

(a) Upon the approval and acceptance of a project and after each distribution of the tax collections for the June and November tax settlements, the county auditor shall certify to the commissioner of management and budget the following information about bonds issued to finance or refinance public drainage ditches wholly or partly within the projects, and the collection of assessments levied for the ditches:

(1) the amount of principal and interest to become due on the bonds before the next tax settlement and distribution;

(2) the amount of money collected from the drainage assessments and credited to the funds of the ditches, not already sent to the commissioner of management and budget as provided in sections 84A.31 to 84A.42; and

(3) the amount of the deficit in the ditch fund of the county chargeable to the ditches.

(b) On approving this certificate of the county auditor, the commissioner of management and budget shall draw a warrant, payable out of the fund provided for in sections 84A.31 to 84A.42, and send it to the county treasurer of the county. These funds must be credited to the proper ditch of the county and placed in the ditch bond fund of the county, which is created, and used only to pay the ditch bonded indebtedness of the county assumed by the state under sections 84A.31 to 84A.42. The total amount of warrants drawn must not exceed in any one year the total amount of the deficit provided for under this section.

(c) The state is subrogated to all title, right, interest, or lien of the county in or on the lands so certified within these projects.

(d) As to public drainage ditches wholly within a project, the amount paid to, or for the benefit of, the county under this subdivision must never exceed the principal and interest of the bonds issued to finance or refinance a ditch outstanding on April 22, 1933, less money on hand in the county ditch fund to the credit of a ditch. These liabilities must be reduced from time to time by the amount of any payments of assessments extended after April 22, 1933, made by the owners of lands assessed before that date for benefits on account of the ditches.

As to public drainage ditches partly within and partly outside a project the amount paid from the fund pertaining to the project to or for the benefit of the county must never exceed a certain percentage of bonds issued to finance and refinance a ditch so outstanding, less money on hand in the county ditch fund to the credit of a ditch on April 22, 1932. The percentage must bear the same proportion to the whole amount of the bonds as the original benefits assessed against these lands within the project bear to the original total benefits assessed to the entire system for a ditch. This liability must be reduced from time to time by the payments of all assessments extended after April 22, 1933, made by the owners of lands within the project of assessments for benefits assessed before that date on account of a ditch.

Subd. 5.Forms and information.

The commissioner of management and budget may provide and prescribe forms for required reports and require any further information from county officials which the commissioner of management and budget finds necessary for the administration of sections 84A.31 to 84A.42.

84A.34 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]
84A.35 [Repealed, 1949 c 498 s 8]

84A.36 LANDS TO BE HELD BY STATE.

The title to parcels of land within a project, except lands within the boundaries of a city, that are acquired by the state under Laws 1927, chapter 119, as amended, must be held by the state free from any trust in favor of the taxing districts specified in that chapter. Title must be held and used or disposed of in accordance with state law.

84A.37 COMMISSIONER OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET TO CERTIFY LIST TO DEPARTMENT.

On receiving the reports of the county auditor specified in section 84A.33, the commissioner of management and budget shall certify a copy of the report to the department. The department shall classify the lands as to their suitability for agriculture or for afforestation, reforestation, or for the purpose of impounding, controlling, and regulating the waters of meandered lakes and flow of natural streams, or for other state purposes. After the state acquires title to the land as provided in sections 84A.31 to 84A.42, the lands may be reclassified. Lands that become the absolute property of the state under sections 84A.31 to 84A.42 and have been classified as suitable for agriculture, and timber from any lands so acquired, may be sold or rented by the state.

84A.38 DEPARTMENT TO ACCEPT GIFTS.

The department may receive for the state and acknowledge any gift, bequest, devise, or grant of land, or interests in lands, in a project, or of money or personal property of any kind, that it finds suitable for use in connection with the operation, control, development, or use of projects.

84A.39 EMINENT DOMAIN.

The department has the power of eminent domain in chapter 117. The department may acquire by eminent domain or by purchase any privately owned lands or interests in lands within a project that it considers necessary for state ownership, use, or development for the purposes of sections 84A.31 to 84A.42. No money shall be used to acquire land or interest in it until the department and the commissioner of management and budget determine that the money will not be required to meet the requisitions of the counties authorized under section 84A.33 or to pay certificates of indebtedness and their interest.

84A.40 COUNTY MAY ASSUME BONDS.

(a) Any county where a project or portion of it is located may voluntarily assume, in the manner specified in this section, the obligation to pay a portion of the principal and interest of the bonds issued before the approval and acceptance of the project and remaining unpaid at maturity, of any school district or town in the county and wholly or partly within the project. The portion must bear the same proportion to the whole of the unpaid principal and interest as the last net tax capacity, before the acceptance of the project, of lands then acquired by the state under sections 84A.31 to 84A.42 in the school districts or towns bears to the total net tax capacity for the same year of the school district or town. This assumption must be evidenced by a resolution of the county board of the county. A copy of the resolution must be certified to the commissioner of management and budget within one year after the acceptance of the project.

(b) Later, if any of the bonds remains unpaid at maturity, the county board shall, upon demand of the governing body of the school district or town or of a bondholder, provide for the payment of the portion assumed. The county shall levy general taxes on all the taxable property of the county for that purpose, or issue its bonds to raise the sum needed, conforming to law respecting the issuance of county refunding bonds. The proceeds of taxes or bonds must be paid by the county treasurer to the treasurer of the school district or town. No payments shall be made by the county to the school district or town until the money in the treasury of the school district or town, together with the money to be paid by the county, is sufficient to pay in full each of the bonds as it becomes due.

(c) If a county fails to adopt and certify the resolution, the commissioner of management and budget shall withhold from the payments to be made to the county under section 84A.32 a sum equal to that portion of the principal and interest of the outstanding bonds that bears the same proportion to the whole of the bonds as the above determined net tax capacity of lands acquired by the state within the project bears to the total net tax capacity for the same year of the school district or town. Money withheld from the county must be set aside in the state treasury and not paid to the county until the full principal and interest of the school district and town bonds have been paid.

(d) If any bonds remain unpaid at maturity, upon the demand of the governing body of the school district or town, or a bondholder, the commissioner of management and budget shall issue to the treasurer of the school district or town a warrant for that portion of the past due principal and interest computed as in the case of the county's liability authorized in this section to be voluntarily assumed. Money received by a school district or town under this section must be applied to the payment of past-due bonds and interest.

84A.41 DEFINITIONS.

Subdivision 1.Taxes.

"Taxes," as used in sections 84A.31 to 84A.42 includes taxes of every kind and special assessments of every kind.

Subd. 2.Bonds and bonded indebtedness.

"Bonds" and "bonded indebtedness," as used in sections 84A.31 to 84A.42, include bonds and accumulated interest on bonds of every nature issued to finance or refinance the construction, maintenance, or repair of public drainage ditches.

84A.42 RULES VIOLATION; MISDEMEANOR.

A person who within the limits of any project established in accordance with section 84A.31 willfully violates a rule of the Department of Natural Resources adopted under sections 84A.31 to 84A.42 is guilty of a misdemeanor.

FINANCES

84A.50 CERTAIN CERTIFICATES ACCEPTED AND VALIDATED.

Certificates relating to bonds issued to finance or refinance public drainage ditches, the principal and interest of the bonds, the amount of money collected from drainage assessments and credited to ditches, and the amount of the deficit in the ditch fund made by a county auditor under section 84A.23 or 84A.33 to the commissioner of management and budget on which payment has been made by the state are accepted as correct and are validated.

84A.51 CONSOLIDATED CONSERVATION AREAS ACCOUNT.

Subdivision 1.Account created.

There is created in the state treasury the consolidated conservation areas account, also called the consolidated account.

Subd. 2.Funds transferred; appropriated.

Money in any fund established under section 84A.03, 84A.22, or 84A.32, subdivision 2, is transferred to the consolidated account, except as provided in subdivision 3. The money in the consolidated account, or as much of it as necessary, is appropriated for the purposes of sections 84A.52 and 84A.53. Of any remaining balance, the amount derived from timber sales receipts is transferred to the forest management investment account and the amount derived from all other receipts is transferred to the general fund.

Subd. 3.Payments to county.

Within 30 days after the end of each fiscal year the commissioner of management and budget shall pay one-half of the income received in the consolidated account in that fiscal year to the county containing the land from which the income is derived. That amount is so appropriated.

Subd. 4.County's use of funds.

The funds received by each county must be apportioned by the county auditor as follows:

(1) 30 percent to a county development fund, which is created, to be spent under the direction of the county board for the rehabilitation and development of the portion of the county within the conservation area;

(2) 40 percent to the general fund of the school district from which derived;

(3) 20 percent to the county revenue fund; and

(4) ten percent to the township road and bridge fund of the township from which derived.

If the proceeds are derived from an unorganized township with no levy for road and bridge purposes, the township portion must be credited to the county revenue fund.

Subd. 5.

[Unnecessary]

84A.52 ACCOUNTS; EXAMINATION, APPROPRIATION, PAYMENT.

(a) As a part of the examination provided for by section 6.481, of the accounts of the several counties within a game preserve, area, or project established under section 84A.01, 84A.20, or 84A.31, the state auditor shall segregate the audit of the accounts reflecting the receipt and disbursement of money collected or disbursed under this chapter or from the sale of tax-forfeited lands held by the state under section 84A.07, 84A.26, or 84A.36. The auditor shall also include in the reports required by section 6.481 summary statements as of December 31 before the examination that set forth the proportionate amount of principal and interest due from the state to the individual county and any money due the state from the county remaining unpaid under this chapter, or from the sale of any tax-forfeited lands referred to in this section, and other information required by the commissioner of management and budget. On receiving a report, the commissioner of management and budget shall determine the net amount due to the county for the period covered by the report and shall draw a warrant upon the state treasury payable out of the consolidated fund for that amount. It must be paid to and received by the county as payment in full of all amounts due for the period stated on the warrants from the state under any provision of this chapter.

(b) Money to pay the warrants is appropriated to the counties entitled to payment from the consolidated fund in the state treasury.

84A.53 RECEIPTS NOT CREDITED TO CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT.

Subdivision 1.Tax levies.

Money collected from tax levies made before April 19, 1949, under this chapter, must be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the general fund. Upon completion of the payment provided for in section 84A.52, the commissioner of management and budget shall make the appropriate entries. Money referred to in this section must not be used for the payments under section 84A.52 until all other money in the consolidated account has been spent.

Subd. 2.Land sales.

The portion of the money received from the sale of tax-forfeited lands that are held by the state under section 84A.07, 84A.26, or 84A.36, that would not be paid to the counties if all the sale proceeds were deposited in the consolidated account, must be deposited in the land acquisition account. The remaining amount must be paid to the counties under section 84A.51 as if all the sale proceeds were deposited in the consolidated account.

84A.54 COLLECTIONS DEPOSITED IN CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT.

Except as provided in section 84A.53, money received after April 18, 1949, under this chapter must be deposited in the consolidated account.

ADMINISTRATION

84A.55 COMMISSIONER'S CONTROL OF CONSERVATION LANDS.

Subdivision 1.General control.

Game preserves, areas, and projects established under section 84A.01, 84A.20, or 84A.31, are under the management, operation, and control of the commissioner of natural resources. The commissioner has the powers and duties provided in this section.

Subd. 2.Forest protection.

The commissioner shall care for, preserve, protect, and develop the forests in preserves, areas, and projects; shall prevent forest fires in them so far as means are available; and may experiment in and practically advance afforestation and reforestation there.

Subd. 3.Timber sales.

The commissioner may sell merchantable timber on lands held by the state under section 84A.07, 84A.26, or 84A.36. It must be sold in the same way as timber on other state lands.

Subd. 4.Waters.

The commissioner may impound, control, and regulate the waters of meandered and other public lakes in preserves, areas, and projects and the flow of natural streams.

Subd. 5.Wildlife.

The commissioner shall care for, protect, and preserve any species of wildlife there, so far as means are available.

Subd. 6.Regulation; licensing.

The commissioner may regulate and license, subject to revocation for violation of any state law relating to wild animals or of this section, the breeding, propagation, and disposition of wildlife in preserves, areas, or projects by any person as necessary to execute subdivision 5.

Subd. 7.Hunting and other licenses.

The commissioner may issue, subject to revocation for violation of state law relating to wild animals or of sections 84A.50 to 84A.55, special licenses or permits for hunting, fishing, camping, or other uses consistent with those sections or any other applicable state law.

Subd. 7a.Snowmobiles on certain lands.

Unless specifically prohibited by a rule of the commissioner, snowmobiles may be operated on lands subject to this section that have been identified by the commissioner as wildlife management areas.

Subd. 8.Policing.

The commissioner may police the game preserves, areas, and projects as necessary to carry out this section. The commissioner may employ and designate individuals according to section 84.0835 to enforce laws governing the use of the game preserves, areas, and projects.

Subd. 9.Drainage.

The commissioner may make necessary investigations and surveys for and may undertake projects for the drainage of state-owned lands within a game preserve, conservation area, or other area subject to this section so far as the commissioner determines that the lands will benefit from the project for the purposes for which the area was established. The commissioner may pay the cost of drainage projects out of funds appropriated and available for them. If the commissioner finds after investigation that a project for the construction, repair, or improvement of a public ditch or ditch system undertaken by a county or other public agency as otherwise provided by law will benefit the lands for those purposes, the commissioner may cooperate in the project by joining in the petition for the project or consenting to or approving it on any conditions the commissioner determines. The commissioner shall authorize the imposition of assessments for the projects on the lands in any amounts the commissioner determines, or may make lump-sum contributions to the county or other public funds established for the payment of the cost of the project. The assessments or contributions must not exceed the value of benefits to the state-owned lands as determined by the commissioner and specified by written certificates or other statement filed in the proceedings. Assessments or contributions are payable only out of funds appropriated and available for them in amounts the commissioner determines. The commissioner of natural resources shall establish by rule before January 1, 1986, the criteria for determining benefits to state-owned lands held or used to protect or propagate wildlife, provide hunting or fishing for the public, or serve other purposes relating to conservation, development, or use of soil, water, forests, wild animals, or related natural resources.

Subd. 10.Roads; landing strips.

The commissioner may construct and maintain and contribute funds for construction and maintenance of roads and airplane landing fields or strips within a game preserve, conservation area, or other area subject to this section. Payments for highway purposes under this subdivision may be made to any governmental subdivision or to the United States in amounts set by the commissioner from the account created by section 84A.51.

Subd. 11.Rules.

The commissioner may promulgate rules necessary for the execution of this section, including the conditions of licenses and permits under subdivision 7 and the amount of license fees. In addition to notice required by other law, the commissioner must give 30 days' notice posted in each township affected by the rules. The rules have the force of law, and any violation of rules is a misdemeanor. Lands within a game preserve, area, or project referred to in subdivision 1, whether owned privately or by the state or any governmental subdivision, are subject to the rules consistent with the constitutional rights of private owners or other applicable state law.

Subd. 12.Compensation.

Nothing shall be done under this section that will interfere with the operation of ditches or drainage systems existing in any game preserve, area, or project referred to in subdivision 1, or damage or destroy any existing road or highway in it, so far as constructed, improved, or maintained by any governmental subdivision or public agency or person other than the commissioner, unless the right to them is first acquired by the commissioner by purchase or condemnation, upon payment of just compensation to the political subdivision, public agency, or person affected and damaged.

Subd. 13.Buying land.

The commissioner may acquire by purchase or condemnation any land or interest in land or any public work or project or right in it necessary for any purpose authorized in this section.

Subd. 14.Source of funds.

Salaries and expenses incurred to carry out this section must be paid from money appropriated from the consolidated account or other fund or account designated in the applicable appropriation.

84A.56 CONSOLIDATED CONSERVATION LAND ACQUISITION AND DISPOSITION.

Subdivision 1.Consolidated conservation land acquisition and disposition plan.

Before the commissioner may acquire or dispose of land in the game preserves, areas, and projects established under section 84A.01, 84A.20, or 84A.31, in any county, the commissioner must prepare a county land acquisition and disposition plan. The plan must identify the general areas where the commissioner intends to acquire or dispose of land and their accompanying reasons. The plan must emphasize a balance of uplands and wetlands.

Subd. 2.Review by county board.

The plan must be submitted to the county board for review and comment. The board must notify the commissioner of natural resources of any concerns or disagreements with the plan within 90 days after receiving the plan or proposal.

Subd. 3.Department review of appraisals.

The county board must submit appraisals for land offered for sale under this section to the commissioner for review at least 30 days before the date of the sale.

84A.57 CERTAIN TAX-FORFEITED LAND HELD IN TRUST FOR COUNTY.

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, land that forfeits to the state for nonpayment of taxes and is in a game preserve, area, or project established under section 84A.01, 84A.20, or 84A.31 must be held in trust for the taxing district as land outside a game preserve, area, or project. The lands must be disposed of and managed, and have income from the land allocated, in the same manner as land that is outside a game preserve, area, or project.

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes