Title
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CITY OFFICIALS TO EXECUTE A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING TO FORMALIZE THE FORMATION OF THE LAKE SUPERIOR HEADWATERS SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIP.
Body
CITY PROPOSAL:
WHEREAS: the Lake Superior Headwaters Sustainability Partnership is intended to facilitate the continued restoration and protection of the St. Louis River Estuary Landscape; and
WHEREAS: On December 7, 2022, the Natural Resources Commission unanimously voted in support of the Lake Superior Headwaters Sustainability Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and moved to recommend that Council authorize the MOU;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the proper City officials are hereby authorized to execute a MOU, substantially in the form of the attached Exhibit A, with the City of Superior, WI, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to formalize the formation of the Lake Superior Headwaters Sustainability Partnership.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: This resolution authorizes the proper city officials to execute a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the City of Superior, WI, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WI DNR), Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR), and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The purpose of the MOU is to formalize the formation of the Lake Superior Headwaters Sustainability Partnership (Headwaters Partnership), a voluntary partnership of communities and agencies, established in 2022. On December 7, 2022 the Natural Resources Commission unanimously voted in support and moved to recommend that the Council approve the MOU.
The Headwaters Partnership will facilitate the development and implementation of projects targeting the continued restoration and protection of the St. Louis River Estuary Landscape once it has been delisted as a Great Lakes Area of Concern. The Headwaters Partnership is an inclusive and intentional framework designed to stimulate collaboration and information sharing to achieve a thriving estuary landscape and community. The principles of sustainability, resiliency, and equity guide the Headwaters Partnership approach to managing natural resources by including economic development and community health and well-being considerations.
By entering the Headwaters Partnership, the City of Duluth agrees to cooperate on the management of the Lake Superior Headwaters region and pursue issues of mutual concern. The vision for, and guiding principles of, the Headwaters Partnership directly aligns with the City’s Natural Resources Management Program Plan approved in 2021, the Essential Spaces: Duluth Parks, Recreation, Open Space, and Trails Plan approved by City Council in October 2022, and the Imagine Duluth 2035 Comprehensive Plan approved in 2018.