Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota

Land protection: Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota (p&tc) partners with state, regional, and local agencies across Minnesota to assist in the acquisition of critical lands for Parks and Trails. Key to this program is a revolving fund known as the samuel h. morgan land fund, which has grown to more than $5.1 million with generous donations from supporters. This fund, paired with staff resources and our commitment to the public good, enables us to act quickly in buying land before an opportunity is lost.see schedule o on page 34 for additional program language.in 2022, p&tc saved 25 acres of critical land valued at $1.85 million for Minnesota's Parks and Trails, including a 24.5-acre former boy scout camp within the statutory boundaries of lake shetek state park that will one day become part of the park. In addition, p&tc closed out 2022 holding 244 acres in trust for public Parks and Trails, including: 61 acres at the goodhue pioneer state trail'Trails's current terminus in hay creek that will fill a gap in public ownership allowing the trail to extend another 5 miles toward goodhue; 60 acres of a former farm along william o'brien state park'Parks's western border that includes a bluff, forest and an area to be restored to native grasslands; 25 acres on both sides of the baptism river on the eastern boundary of tettegouche state park; and 22 acres on both sides of pike creek where it empties into the Mississippi river at charles lindbergh state park. You can tour some of p&tc's accomplishments in the "land protection" section of our website at www.parksandtrails.org and in the 2022 annual report.

Outreach and community engagement: Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota's work relies on the support of the many people who use and appreciate Parks and Trails. P&tc works to educate and engage this community to support our efforts to acquire, protect and enhance these places in a variety of ways. Our magney circle members toured our 2021 land project for william o'brien state park with presentations from natural resource professionals and an area historian; our annual photo contest had hundreds of submissions showcasing the beauty of Minnesota's Parks and Trails; our scavenger hunt engaged more than 900 people at 69 state Parks and five local Parks; and thousands of supporters connected with important issues through p&tc's regular newsletters, emails, Minnesota Trails magazine content, facebook and instagram pages. In addition, p&tc has more than 50 volunteer "friends" group partners that we support in a variety of ways, including fiscal sponsorship services, an ever-expanding resource library, liability insurance for events, networking opportunities, expanded publicity through our web and print communications, and workshops that help build skills. In 2022, p&tc awarded $13,450 in grants to five friends group partners working on habitat restoration projects at blue mounds and frontenac state Parks as well as indian heights park, sunfish lake park and the casey jones state trail. The restoration projects resulted in 23 trees to replace ash trees decimated by emerald ash borer, significant prairies seed sowing and native plantings as well as buckthorn removal at the friends of lake elmo's sunfish lake park. P&tc also funded planning for a nature play area in partnership with the friends of wild river state park and we renewed our grant to friends of tettegouche who completed phase two in the constructions of the popular nature play area at tettegouche state park. Finally, for the second year in a row, p&tc hosted eight webinars to build friends group capacity. You can find more information on the work we do with friends groups by visiting the "friends groups" section of our website at www.parksandtrails.org.

Research and public policy: Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota (p&tc) values decisions informed by the best available science and data. P&tc's independent research complements the work of our public partners and together brings clarity and confidence to our public policy advocacy. P&tc strives to be an independent, honest and forthright voice for Parks and Trails at the state capitol where critical decisions are made. See schedule o on page 34 for additional program language.in 2022, Parks & Trails Council was contracted by the greater Minnesota regional Parks and Trails commission to conduct trail counts and visitor surveys at three mountain bike destinations: winona bluffs traverse, tioga recreation area and lake county's split rock wilds. The work culminated in three comprehensive reports that provide trail traffic numbers, visitor demographics, user trail experience summaries, trail tourism information, trail user characteristics, and details on how people learn about the various trail systems. Finally, as the go to source of information on all things Parks and Trails, p&tc develops, maintains and updates several fact sheets that are used by decision makers and are accessible in the "research and reports" section of our website at www.parksandtrails.org. A summary of p&tc's legislative accomplishments can also be found in the advocacy section of our website.