U of M looking for citizen input on the environment~ State leaders working with U of M officials to build a conservation plan for Minnesota ~Contacts: Justin Ware, University News Service, (612) 626-1720 |
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 6/20/2007 ) -- Safe water, more forests, the condition of state parks; the state of Minnesota wants to know what environmental issues matter the most to Minnesotans. And the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment has a Web site that allows residents to let their leaders know what they think. The information gathered from the site will help form the Minnesota Statewide Conservation and Preservation Plan, which is being developed by the Institute on the Environment with consulting partners Bonestroo and CR Planning. The plan will chart a long-term course for safeguarding Minnesota's natural heritage. "This plan is intended to guide the state's natural resource conservation efforts for the next 50 years," said Deborah Swackhamer, interim director of the Institute on the Environment and lead principal investigator on the project. "So it is crucial that all concerned citizens and organizations make their voices heard as early in the process as possible." Providing feedback for the plan is easy. Just log on to http://wrc.umn.edu/scpp/, click on "get involved", then on the green icon that asks you to "contribute your vision" and it will open up an email field. The information will be used to assemble a final plan that officials hope will be ready by June 2008. That plan will include long term conservation and preservation goals and strategies, benchmarks to evaluate progress and prioritized activities needed to implement the strategies. ---------- | 
