Legislators sing MSRPO praises at 2012 Legislative Summit -
urge greater grassroots activism in AIS fight
Jan. 14th - M-State Campus Detroit Lakes - the Minnesota COLA
Calloborative held its second (annual?) AIS Legislative Summit,
"Do More Now." Over 400 consituents and a
dozen legislators packed the room to learn what more must be done
to stop the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species in Minnesota.
MSRPO was a co-Sponsor of the event.
MSRPO presented an agressive AIS agenda at
the Bold Action Now
Summit:
- Dedicated and reliable AIS funding
- Increased penalties for AIS violations - 18% non-compliance
rate is too high
- Increased inspection authority to empower local efforts
- Authority to remove boats or structures already in the
water
- Greater control of water related equipment like boat lifts or
docks that are moved around the state
- Best Management Practices for fishing tournaments to prevent
AIS spread.
Following MSRPO's presentation legislators spoke in support of both
the agenda and funding. A number also sang MSRPO's praises, urging
lake shore owners to join MSRPO.
Key note speaker
Dr.
Darby Nelson, past legislator, professor, writer,
member of the Lessard Sams council, Conservation Minnesota Board
member, said:
You and others like you across the state have
significantly moved the AIS agenda forward ...
lobbyists and constituents play very, very important
roles... Jeff and his organization... play a crucial role
in Saint Paul influencing lake policies... help Jeff in his
lobbying effort by joining his organization or at least
conrtibuting some money toward that cause. It is an extremely
important effort.
I want you to know ... four days after being sworn
in, in my first term, .... I met Jeff Forester and Henry
Erdman... Folks, if ... you care about your lakes...
and you don't belong to MSRPO, shame on you.
These folks are worth gold to you... Be a participating
member of this association....
... when you have these groups that will come and
present your story to us I can't tell you how important that is.
They are our go-to people and I just want to encourage you
all to support them....
...these lobbyists educate and inform me ... They
are good people ... and we do rely that what they are giving us is
the truth.
MSRPO Pushes Major Property Tax Reform
There is good news, as with the Asian carp issue, a number of
groups and the Governor are committing to tax reform and
government redesign. We expect a major reform package to come forth
following the 2012 elections.
Incentives for good lake shore protection must be a part
of any reform.
The rejection of the Draft Shoreline Rules by Governor Pawlenty
is further evidence that regulation alone cannot protect our
waters. Local boards of appeal regularly give variances believing,
incorrectly, that by promoting questionable development they are
strengthening their local exonomy.
The blog Strong Towns does a good job of debunking this "Growth Ponzi Scheme."
MSRPO knows that even though regulations are only a good tool,
will not meet our conservation goals alone.
Minnesota's property tax system aggressively selects for ever
greater subdivision and development of shore line, and it applies
this pressure relentlessly, year after year in good economies and
bad.
The problem is best summarized by a statement made by a Lake
Vermilion assessor, "We used to mine iron ore, now we
mine lake shore."
Minnesota must stop mining its forests and shore lines
for revenue... We need incentives to level the playing field for
the environment.
Minnesota:
- cannot buy all of the land needed to preserve our water
quality and critical forest habitats.
- cannot enforce the regulations currently on the
books.
- cannot update regulations.
- land owners want to do the right thing by and large, but
cannot afford to hold onto their land and shore line.
Incentives should be:
- revenue neutral to local and state governments.
- large enough to change behavior and turn shore line consumers
into shore line conservationists.
- fair to all property classes
Welcome!
The Minnesota Seasonal Recreational Property Owners (MSRPO)
Coalition was formed in 1994 to represent recreational property
owners at the State Capitol.
From a few cabins on Lake Vermilion, MSRPO has grown to
represent over 6,000 families that own lakeshore and forestland.
Their issues now include not only major tax
reform, but water quality, shoreline regulations, habitat
protection, forest fragmentation, and shoreline
over-development.
We know that families are the primary stewards of
Minnesota's great outdoor heritage, owning a full
2/3rds of the shoreline and 43% of the forestland, and we
aggressively defend their way of life.
MSRPO is the only group with a full-time advocate
working at the state capitol for shoreline and forestland
owners. We get no foundation money, no grants from the
state DNR or other groups. We are entirely dependent on our
members' voluntary contributions. For this reason we can push an
agenda other groups simply cannot.
A 2010 survey of over 3,000 families that own shoreline or
forestland has shown that:
- 89% fear that property taxes may soon force them to sell or
subdivide their land, thereby accelerating water quality
deterioration and forest fragmentation.
- A whopping 95% believing that it is "important" to "extremely
important" to have a professional advocate working to pass
legislation to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species.
- Almost 50% believe it is important to advocate habitat
protection legislation.
- 84% want more transparent, simpler and fairer property
tax.
The most important thing we learned in our survey was
that:
96% of respondents vote!
The MSRPO Board will continue our strategic planning process to
realign our mission and change our name to reflect our broader
constituency and evolving agenda.
If you believe that:
- Minnesota should stop the spread of Aquatic Invasive
Species
- When we tax land only as a commodity, we consume
it
- Minnesota's state and local fiscal system is broken and
needs major reform
- Regulation alone has not been sufficient in protecting
our lakes and forest habitats from overdevelopment, and incentives
should be used to promote long-term sustainable forestry, shore
land management and wetland protection in Minnesota…
MSRPO is the group for you.
12-19-11 Jeff Forester part 1.mp3