2003 Minnesota Statutes

     103F.225 Shoreland protection program. 

    Subdivision 1.    Establishment.  The Board of Water and 
 Soil Resources shall establish a program to acquire conservation 
 easements in environmentally sensitive lake and river shoreland 
 areas from private landowners.  The board may award grants to 
 local soil and water conservation districts and participating 
 local units of government to accomplish the purposes of the 
 program.  The board shall coordinate the acquisition of lake and 
 river shoreland conservation easements with shoreland protection 
 and enhancement activities of the commissioner of natural 
 resources, the Pollution Control Agency, and other public and 
 private entities. 

    Subd. 2.    Local acquisition criteria.  A participating 
 soil and water conservation district or local unit of government 
 must establish a working group of interested individuals.  The 
 working groups, along with the county board and the soil and 
 water conservation district, must develop criteria for 
 acquisition of lake and river shoreland conservation easements 
 and the preservation and enhancement of degraded or eroded 
 shoreland. 

    Subd. 3.    Use of grants.  The board, a participating 
 soil and water conservation district, or local unit of 
 government may use a grant for the acquisition of shoreland 
 conservation easements.  The grant may be up to 100 percent of 
 the cost of acquisition of the easement.  A conservation 
 easement, as defined in section 84C.01, must be permanent and is 
 subject to applicable provisions relating to easement 
 acquisition in section 103F.515, subdivisions 3 to 6, 8 and 9, 
 except the easement may be held by the board, a local unit of 
 government, or a soil and water conservation district.  Section 
 273.117 applies to conservation easements acquired under this 
 section. 

    Subd. 4.    Conservation plan; grant priority.  (a) An 
 entity applying for a grant to acquire a shoreland conservation 
 easement under this section must prepare a conservation plan for 
 the area subject to the easement to provide for the preservation 
 and enhancement of the natural shoreline.  The conservation plan 
 shall also include information on identified and committed 
 funding sources to implement the plan. 

    (b) The board shall give priority for grants based on: 

    (1) the environmental sensitivity of the shoreland; 

    (2) the need for preservation and enhancement of the 
 shoreland due to existing degradation and erosion; and 

    (3) the extent that funding, including in-kind 
 contributions, has been committed to implement the conservation 
 plan. 

    Subd. 5.    Expiration.  This section expires June 30, 
 2004. 

    HIST: 2002 c 393 s 45