MINNESOTA - The Trust for Public Land in Action: 2020

The Trust for Public Land in Action: 2020 C E L E B R AT I N G W HAT YO U M A D E P O S S I B L E IN MINNESOTA AND BEYOND

Land for people… now more than ever When I write this letter next year, I hope we are closer to a healthier, more just world. The coronavirus pandemic, its economic fallout, and the ongoing realities of systemic racism have created extraordinary hardships across the country. Through this turmoil, we have gained an even greater appreciation of how parks and natural areas are sought-after places where we take respite. Getting outdoors provides fresh air, places to relax and reflect, opportunities to exercise and focus on our mental health, and safer spaces to enjoy socially-distanced conversations with family and friends.

and complex. But the payoffs are substantial and timeless because once the land is protected, it is protected for the public forever.

With guidance from our new strategic plan, we are renewing our commitment to serving communities with a sharpened focus on health, equity, and climate. Through innovative solutions to support the development of parks, public lands, trails, and schoolyards, we can realize the power of land for people.

Please continue reading to learn more about our work in Minnesota and the Northwoods. And thank you very much for being a friend and supporter of our land-for-people mission.

In Minnesota and the Northwoods of Wisconsin and Michigan, The Trust for Public Land is rising to the challenges of this moment to ensure parks and natural areas are available to all of us as we adjust to our new normal.

We’ve also launched a Healthy Community Schoolyards initiative dedicated to transforming underutilized, uninspiring schoolyards into vibrant, neighborhood-friendly parks.

Beyond the Twin Cities, we remain keenly focused on priority land-for-people protection efforts. We rely upon these natural, wilder places for fishing, hiking, paddling, and camping—as well as for inspiration, beauty, and quietude. In selecting our projects, we also consider the climate and environmental benefits of cleaner air and water.

Our land protection work is time-consuming

B. Andrew Brown Minnesota Advisory Board Chair ©2012 RICHARD HAMILTON SMITH

In the Twin Cities, we are partnering with community organizations to understand what is needed to improve both quality and equitable access to parks, especially in underserved areas.

We’re Scaling Up! our commitment to protect and generate new public funding for parks, public lands, and outdoor recreation.

Mississippi River Northwoods Habitat Complex Brainerd, MN

The power of land for people O U R S T R AT E G I C P L A N O V E R V I E W For nearly five decades, The Trust for Public Land has known that great parks and green spaces can transform communities from the ground up.

Our recently adopted strategic plan reaffirms our commitment to improving community health, equity, and climate outcomes.

WE ENVISION A FUTURE WHERE: Lands: Every community is connected to public lands to provide healthy outdoor experiences and safeguard clean air and water.

Parks: Every resident in cities large and small has safe, equitable access to a high-quality park within a 10-minute walk of home.

OUR COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITIES: Health: Everyone deserves opportunities to experience the physical and mental health benefits nature provides.

Schoolyards: Green schoolyards become a standard practice, serving as a hub for neighborhood empowerment, improved health and education, and climate resiliency.

Equity: Everyone deserves access to the benefits of nature, regardless of where they live or how much money they have.

Trails: Every community has equitable access to urban, suburban, and rural trails connecting people to nature, recreation, schools, workplaces, and each other.

Climate: Everyone deserves climate-smart communities that are more resilient and prepared for change.

We will realize these commitments by creating parks, public lands, trails, and green schoolyards.

We’ve set long and short term goals for each of these initiatives that will stretch and challenge us to achieve impact at scale.

HEALTH

EQUITY

CLIMATE

ANDY RICHTER PHOTOGRAPHY

Towerside Park

Minneapolis, MN

ANDY RICHTER PHOTOGRAPHY

“Now, more than ever, our parks must be understood as public infrastructure.”

“Parks are essential—especially during the coronavirus pandemic” Boston Globe, May 6, 2020

PA R K S Parks are essential to public health. The Trust for Public Land and many others have known this for decades. Now, the pandemic has made it undeniable: safe, close-to-home parks are crucial to a community’s quality of life.

Yucatan Wildlife Management Area Rushford, MN

Here in Minnesota, we have long partnered with communities to create parks that boost health, strengthen social connections, and help communities adapt to climate change. During this time of renewed interest in parks, we are proud to announce that Midway Peace Park joins our legacy when it opens in fall 2020.

LANDS Public lands have innumerable benefits for the communities they serve. From hiking through a vast hardwood forest or a sea of wildflowers in the prairie to fly-fishing in a trout stream, for many people time spent immersed in nature is vital to our sense of being.

In the Upper Midwest, we are building on our legacy by protecting land along our rivers and in the iconic landscapes of the Northwoods. This year, in one of six projects completed, we added nearly 500 acres to the Savanna State Forest in Aitkin County—our second addition to the forest.

This large block of upland northern hardwoods provides valuable public recreational opportunities for hunting and wildlife observation, as well as significant water quality benefits.

ERIC WEISS

Public lands also play an imperative role in protecting water quality and sequestering carbon. We’re proud to say that, nationally, land protected by The Trust for Public Land has already helped capture over 140 million tons of carbon— equivalent to taking 100 million cars off the road for a year!

Midway Peace Park will provide new close-to-home park access to 3,200 Saint Paul residents. Thanks to its community-led design, the park features a playground, a basketball court, an amphitheater, and stormwater capture features.

Midway Peace Park Saint Paul, MN

JENNA STAMM

TRAILS Trails are the common ground for communities, connecting us to nature and each other, cutting across mapped boundaries, and drawing people into new places and experiences. Many trails cross not only neighborhoods but entire cities and states.

William Cramp Elementary Schoolyard Philadelphia, PA

S C H O O LYA R D S In Minnesota, there’s a schoolyard in nearly every neighborhood, yet these public spaces are mostly underutilized as public green spaces.

By opening schoolyards to nearby neighbors during non-school hours, we can improve overall park access, park quality, and park usage.

The Trust for Public Land has long championed the green schoolyards movement across the country, partnering with New York City schools since 1972.

More recently, we launched Healthy Community Schoolyards in Minnesota.

We will use data-driven decision support tools to identify schools for the biggest impact. We will also educate school districts on the benefits of green schoolyards and partner with them to open schoolyards to the community.

By prioritizing trail development, we highlight the benefits of trails to communities—including recreational and environmental benefits, as well as benefits to public health, transportation systems, economic revitalization, and community identity.

Our land protection work has already helped build great trails in the area, like the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary in Saint Paul where the southern end of the 13-mile Bruce Vento Regional Trail leads to White Bear Township. We also recently protected land to expand the Cannon River Turtle Preserve Scientific and Natural Area near Red Wing along the Cannon Valley Trail (CVT).

Over the years, we have had a significant role protecting land in the national forests of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

We’ve preserved over 69,000 acres in the national forests that the 4,600-mile North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) passes through. NCT hikers can continue to experience the natural wilderness and rugged landscapes that are vital to thru-hiking experiences.

Our work is supported in part by:

PARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL OF MINNESOTA

Cannon Valley Trail

Cannon Falls, MN

Minnesota Advisory Board We are so grateful for our volunteer leaders!

Andrew Brown, Chair Julia Silvis, Vice-Chair Cheryl Appeldorn Daniel L. Avchen Karin Birkeland Toni Carter Page Knudsen Cowles* Paul Durkee Thomas Fisher Peter Gove Susan Haigh Jule Hannaford John Herman Lisa Hondros Doug Kelley

Steve King Greg McNeely Steven Meyer Timothy M. O’Brien, Ph.D. David Prince Kate Richardson Amanda Rome Andrew Rosen Don Samuels John Shepard Marnie K. Wells Philip H. Willkie Jim Wyman * National Board member

M E E T T H E M I N N E S O TA T E A M : • Rachel Baird, Midwest Institutional Giving Manager

• Keeley McCall, Philanthropy Associate

• Will Cooksey, Sr. Land Protection Specialist

• Bob McGillivray, Land Protection Director

• DJ Forbes, Project Manager

• Makayla Oman, Administrative Assistant

• Seema Kairam, Equitable Communities Senior Program Manager

• Susan Schmidt, Minnesota State Director

• Kim Lawler, Minnesota Director of Philanthropy

• Eric Weiss, Program Director, Community-Powered Parks

ANDY RICHTER PHOTOGRAPHY

Indian Jack Lake

Crow Wing County, MN

RICHARD FREEDA

Thank you

for joining us as we reimagine and realize the power of land for people to create stronger communities.

We couldn’t do it without you.

Join us.

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.

tpl.org

Susan Schmidt Minnesota State Director 651.917.2240 | susan.schmidt@tpl.org Kim Lawler Minnesota Director of Philanthropy 651.999.5322 | kim.lawler@tpl.org 2610 University Avenue, Suite 300 Saint Paul, Minnesota 55114

COVER PHOTOS: TOP LEFT, RICHARD HAMILTON SMITH; ALL OTHER PHOTOS, ANDY RICHTER PHOTOGRAPHY.