Title
RESOLUTION AMENDING RESOLUTION 21-0181R AUTHORIZING APPLICATION TO THE LEGISLATIVE CITIZENS COMMISSION ON MINNESOTA RESOURCES (LCCMR) FOR FUNDS FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES TRUST FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,000,000 TO INTEGRATE THREE ST LOUIS RIVER CORRIDOR MASTER PLANS AND BEGIN COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT FOR RECREATION, OUTREACH, TOURISM, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION
Body
CITY PROPOSAL:
WHEREAS, Resolution 21-0181R, adopted by the city council on March 22, 2021, authorized application to the LCCMR in the amount of $2,000,000 to integrate three St. Louis River Corridor Master Plans and begin comprehensive development recreation, outreach, tourism and environmental preservation; and
WHEREAS, the statement of purpose listed that these funds would improve and extend Waabizheshikana: The Marten Trail, and implement the interpretive plan for segments 2,6 and 7; and
WHEREAS, project changes resulted in the need to revise the trail segments that would be improved with requested LCCMR funds.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Resolution 21-0181R is hereby amended to state the requested funds will improve and extend, and implement the interpretive plan on segments 0,2 and 7.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: This resolution amends Resolution 21-0181R, authorizing application to LCCMR for funds from the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund in the amount of $2,000,000, by changing the Waabizheshikana trail segments to be improved with requested LCCMR grant funds from segments 2, 6, and 7 to segments 0,2 and 7.
The visionary St. Louis River Corridor Initiative effort, led by the City of Duluth, began in 2014. The vision calls for targeted park and trail improvements to establish the St. Louis River Corridor as a great place to live, work, and play for existing residents, prospective new residents, and visitors. The goals of the Initiative are to support environmental restoration, enrich neighborhood quality of life, attract new homebuyers and businesses, establish a nationally significant visitor destination, and stimulate economic development.
To date, Duluth has completed three relevant comprehensive master plans; the St. Louis River Estuary National Water Trail, the Waabizheshikana Trail, and the Waabizheshikana Interpretive Plan. These plans address different priority needs within the corridor, but are integral to one another. The Water Trail is part of a national system of exemplary water trail destinations. The Waabizheshikana Trail is an extension of the former Western Waterfront Trail that will follow the St. Louis River all the way to Chambers Grove and provide access and support to the river itself and the Water Trail. The St. Louis River holds cultural memory and spiritual meaning for indigenous people, European immigrants, and American migrants. It is a sustaining habitat for plants and animals in and out of the water. The Waabizheshikana Interpretive Plan will present many natural, industrial and cultural perspectives on the river, its past, present, and future.
If funded, the grant would provide:
• Three years of funding to the St. Louis River Alliance for staff to improve, promote, and program the newly designated National Water Trail for which the Alliance is the formal sponsor and lead City partner.
• Funding to complete Segments 0, 2, and 7 of Waabizheshikana
• Funding to fully implement the Waabizheshikana interpretive plan on the existing trail and Segments 0, 2, and 7.
There is no required local match for this grant program.