Bluestem Prairie

Chronic Wasting Disease lies by omission: Heintzeman leaves out facts in guest column

We can only hope that Divine Providence will save Minnesota deer hunters and the state's wild deer herd from the leadership Nisswa Republican Josh Heintzeman is advocating in Monday's Guest Opinion: Minnesota can be a national leader on CWD in the Brainerd Dispatch.

Heintzeman writes:

Like many area residents, I was extremely concerned when the DNR revealed last month that a wild deer in Crow Wing County had tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease.

This is the first time a CWD-positive deer has been found outside of southeastern Minnesota.

We posted a screenshot of his copy in the online version of the Dispatch. That's simply not true. Here's the record of CWD events found on page 40 of the Office of the Legislative Auditor's report, Board of Animal Health’s Oversight of Deer and Elk Farms:

While some of those events involved farmed elk, most are deer and most aren't in Southeastern Minnesota. Here's a map the Winona Post published in September 2018 in Chris Rogers'  article, Growing threat: Chronic wasting disease in deer:

The data above is dated. The Morrison County Record reported in the November 2018 article, Deer farm in Crow Wing County infected with CWD in 2016 identifies additional cases:

Chronic wasting disease was detected in four harvested samples from farmed deer at a quarantined farm in Crow Wing County. The farm has been under movement restrictions and monitored by the Board since December 2016 when two white-tailed deer tested positive for the disease. The Minnesota Board of Animal Health confirms recent samples were CWD positive in four deer.

• 9-year-old female mule deer.

• 1.5-year-old female white-tailed deer.

• 2-year-old male white-tailed deer.

• 2-year-old female mule deer.

“We’ve been working with the herd owner for the past two years to monitor the deer and look for any new detections of the disease,” said Assistant Director Dr. Linda Glaser. “The biggest change following this new detection will be to extend our deadline to monitor the herd.”

Yes, deer (and elk) with CWD had been found "outside of southeastern Minnesota," but Heintzeman leaves that part out. That makes it easier for him to argue:

In the case of CWD, a dead deer can tell us if the disease is present but it does not help us determine where the animal acquired the disease. Yes, it could have been transmitted from a deer farm but it also could have been acquired elsewhere. Deer are often harvested elsewhere and then taken home to be processed, and the remains are then discarded in the woods or fields. Deer are also highly mobile.

Unfortunately, with CWD transmission, there's much that remains a mystery.

What remains a mystery to us is that Heintzeman imagines that folks might not be able to spot his omissions--and will never come across the Roseville deer hunter and DFL lawmaker's CWD response plan.

After all, the Minnesota Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers applauded the plan. The Minnesota Deerhunters Association likes it:

Statement from @MNDeerHunters in support of legislation to address chronic wasting disease #CWD #mnleg 🦌 pic.twitter.com/2ucDSHamNr

— Jamie Becker-Finn (@jbeckerfinn) February 27, 2019

The Bluffland Whitetails Association concurred.

Leadership looks like Jamie Becker Finn.

Screengrab: Josh Heintzeman leaves out a key fact about CWD in Minnesota.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Study shows endocrine-disrupting imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid, messes up does and fawns

Via Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resource  Rick Hansen's latest legislative update, we learn of the academic article, Effects of Neonicotinoid Insecticides on Physiology and Reproductive Characteristics of Captive Female and Fawn White-tailed Deer, that relates the results of a study conducted at the South Dakota State University Wildlife and Fisheries Captive Facility.

From the Abstract:

Over the past decade, abnormalities have been documented in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in west-central Montana. Hypotheses proposed to explain these anomalies included contact with endocrine disrupting pesticides, such as imidacloprid. We evaluated the effects of imidacloprid experimentally at the South Dakota State University Wildlife and Fisheries Captive Facility where adult white-tailed deer females and their fawns were administered aqueous imidacloprid (an untreated control, 1,500 ng/L, 3,000 ng/L, and 15,000 ng/L). Water consumption, thyroid hormone function, behavioral responses, and skull and jawbone measurements were compared among treatments. Additionally, liver, spleen, genital, and brain imidacloprid concentrations were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results indicated that 1) control deer consumed more water than treatment groups, 2) imidacloprid was present in the organs of our control group, indicating environmental contamination, 3) as imidacloprid increased in the spleen, fawn survival, thyroxine levels, jawbone lengths, body weight, and organ weights decreased, 4) adult female imidacloprid levels in the genitals were negatively correlated with genital organ weight and, 5) behavioral observations indicated that imidacloprid levels in spleens were negatively correlated with activity levels in adult females and fawns. Results demonstrate that imidacloprid has direct effects on white-tailed deer when administered at field–relevant doses.

The entire article is accessible online here at Nature Scientific Reports.

A deer hunter who still farms the family place with his brother in Harmony, Fillmore County, Hansen, DFL- S. St. Paul,writes in his email:

I’ve introduced bills on this topic for years – see HF 170 from 2017 and HF 2532 from 2016 – and will continue my efforts to protect wildlife from these chemicals.

Photo: A doe and her fawn.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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DNR hydrologist: Swift County aquifers' decline "not an emergency, but it is concerning"

With surface waters threatening to flood in Minnesota, a west central Minnesota county's concerns about water use might seem an oddity. But as Tom Cherveny reports in Swift County sees increasing groundwater demands, it's no trivial pursuit.

Cherveny writes:

Current trends point to the potential for conflicts. The water level in a monitoring well in the city of Benson has declined by about 15 feet since the early 1990s. It's located in the middle aquifer, the largest of the aquifers available to the community. Increased demand on that aquifer by new users led the city of Benson to develop a third and deeper well to tap a lower aquifer for additional water about 10 years ago.

Other monitoring wells around the county all show downward trend lines as well. None has remained flat, according to Gieseke.

"It's not an emergency, but it is concerning," Anne Hall, a DNR hydrologist, told the audience. ...

[Tim] Gieseke said the DNR is encouraging the formation of what it calls Community-based Aquifer Management Partnerships. The goal is to bring elected officials and water users together to jointly manage groundwater usage before conflicts occur.

What's causing the aquifer draw down? According to the West Central Tribune article:

The increased demand comes from a variety of users. Irrigation on farmlands has been growing, and represents the largest use of groundwater in the Benson area.

The county has seen the arrival of large dairies in recent years. Benson also has seen large industrial users — including the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company and, until recently, the Fibrominn power plant — tap into aquifers serving the community.

Much of the decline in aquifers can be attributed to the increased usage. It was also asked whether increased subsurface drainage on farmlands is diverting water that would otherwise help recharge the aquifers. Hall said a white paper by the Minnesota Groundwater Association determined that research is needed to answer that question.

To help readers envision the impact of those dairies, for example, we need only turn to the 2017 Tribune article, Riverview plans fifth large dairy west of Willmar:

Riverview Dairy LLP of Morris is planning to develop a fifth large dairy farm in the state Highway 40 corridor west of Willmar. ...

It will hold 9,500 animal units of Jersey cows in a free stall barn facility, according to the environmental assessment worksheet. ...

The dairy will develop wells to provide 120 million gallons of water per year.

Riverview Dairy operates two other large dairies in Swift County, the East Dublin (about 3,953 cows) and West Dublin (about 8,890 cows) operations.

A 2002 expansion Environmental Assessment Worksheet for the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company plant noted that water usage would be 165 million gallons of water per year.

We'll keep an eye out to see what the task force Cherveny reports the county is forming comes up with.

Graph: The increased usage of groundwater in the Benson area has resulted in a corresponding decline in groundwater levels, as shown by this graph from a monitoring well in Benson. Submitted image in the West Central Tribune.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Catching up after bomb cyclone ice storm takes out power and internet for two work days

Bluestem was minding Minnesota's political business on Thursday morning, listening to the Minnesota House Ag and Food Finance and Policy Division.

This was after an ice storm Wednesday:

The rain has frozen on the bare tree branches, which are klacking together in the wind, bending low toward rooftops and wires.

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) March 13, 2019

As we were trying to listen to the testimony Thursday morning:

Power out in Summit. Lots of large branches down and some trees split in two from the weight of the ice. Have the wood stove so I'm ok for heat. Everybody take care.

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) March 14, 2019

Power on. Power off. On. Off. Blizzard bomb cyclone storm, I hate you. #SDwx

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) March 14, 2019

Some neighbors' trees shattered by the weight of ice in the high gusts of wind in Summit SD. Power still out.#SDwx pic.twitter.com/qpjb9L6USI

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) March 14, 2019

The side of my house along Woodward Street in Summit SD. Lots of smaller branches down. Still no power. Generators purring around town pic.twitter.com/p4nWFFoV22

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) March 16, 2019

Power came on late last night and then off briefly around two, then off for a flash this afternoon. Ice is still on the trees and some of the lines, but Bluestem's going to try to catch up with Thursday and Friday's Minnesota legislative business, as well as industrial hemp and anti-free speech developments here in South Dakota.

Our thanks to the many, many linemen with Ottertail Power who worked in terrible conditions to restore power on the Coteau.

Photo: A massive late winter storm brought blizzard conditions to the central United States. Photo via NASA/NOAA GOES Project.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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A nation divided, remote debate: Rochester fitness center bans CNN and Fox News

Amid discussions of civility and a polarized nation, Bluestem is not surprised to read Matthew Stolle's story in the Rochester Post Bulletin, Why 125 Live pulled the plug on CNN, Fox News:

Confronted with numerous reports of “bad behavior” and arguments among members sparked by the watching of two 24-hour cable news channels, 125 Live executive director Sylwia Oliver decided enough was enough.

On Monday, she announced that she was banning the playing of CNN and FOX News in the center’s common areas.

“To curtail the arguments, I made the decision to suspend CNN and FOX News,” Oliver told members in an email. “I understand that many of you will be upset, but safety of members and staff is a priority to me.”

In an interview, Oliver said members are free to use their personal devices at 125 Live to watch whatever news shows they want. They can also watch cable news on computers in its technology and learning center.

“They can stream whatever they want as long as it’s not in everyone’s faces and not forcing people to watch something they don’t want to watch,” Oliver said.

The airing of political news shows like FOX and CNN in the fitness area and locker rooms was undermining 125 Live’s efforts to create a welcoming environment, Oliver said. A member on a treadmill would resent being forced to watch whatever news station another member had on. . . .

Thank heaven the Mayo Clinic isn't far away in case things get really rough.

125 Live: A Center For Active Adults is “More than a membership, it’s a mission”:

125 LIVE is a state-of-the-art facility specifically designed to focus on the diverse needs of individuals 18+ and provide a wide variety of physical, social and intellectual opportunities to engage the minds and bodies of our community. Through expansive programming, fitness amenities, gathering spaces and personal health resources, 125 LIVE provides opportunities for all adults to embark on their own journey to “aging successfully.”

Graphics: Logos for a divided America.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Marla Spivak will tell Fillmore County about “Getting Bees Back on Their Own Six Feet”

The Fillmore County Journal reports in “Getting Bees Back on Their Own Six Feet” Dinner on the Bluff features entomologist Marla Spivak:

Dr. Marla Spivak, a MacArthur Fellow and McKnight Distinguished Professor in Entomology at the University of Minnesota, will be the featured speaker at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center’s Dinner on the Bluff event April 6. 

Honey bees are one of the key pollinators of flowers, fruits and vegetables. Over the past 15 years, colonies of bees have been disappearing, and the reason remains unknown. Referred to as “colony collapse disorder,” billions of Honey bees across the world are leaving their hives, never to return. In some regions, up to 90% of bees have disappeared.

In her speech, “Getting Bees Back on Their Own Six Feet,” Dr. Spivak will talk about the stressors that honey bees, and our diverse native bees, are facing and describe ways we can help them survive and thrive once again.

Dr. Spivak is the founder of the Bee Lab at the University of Minnesota and has bred a line of honey bees (the Minnesota Hygienic Line) to defend themselves against diseases.  Current studies include the effects of agricultural landscapes and pesticides on bee health. . . .

Dinner on the Bluff is sponsored in part by the Sustainable Food and Farming degree program at Minnesota State College Southeast – Red Wing and Winona.  Dr. Spivak’s speech will be accompanied by a themed three-course dinner with a portion of the ticket price supporting Eagle Bluff’s educational programming.  Doors open at 5 p.m.  Guests are encouraged to bring their own adult beverage of choice.  Tickets for this event are $30.

For more information or to register, visit www.eagle-bluff.org or call (507) 467-2437.

Read more at the Fillmore County Journal.

Photo: Honeybees.

f you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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VIDEO: Historic pesticide preemption bill heard

Earlier this evening in VIDEO: Bill for truth-in-labeling for pollinator-friendly plants heard in Ag & Food Division, we wrote about one effort to give confidence to gardeners and landscapers who want feel confident that they are indeed pollinator-friendly.

But HF1908 wasn't the only bee bill heard in Tuesday's Ag and Food Division meeting. Here's video of the hearing for  HF 212,followed by an explanation from the Pesticide Action Network:

Our friends at the Pesticide Action Network sent us this handy press release about the hearing:

On Tuesday, the Minnesota House Agriculture and Food Finance and Policy Division committee heard HF 212  a bill that would allow four cities in Minnesota—Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, and Duluth—to regulate the application, use, and disposal of pesticides. The committee will consider the bill for inclusion in the committee’s omnibus bill.

 

This bill has been authored by Minneapolis Representative Jim Davnie for the last six years. This year, Representative Jean Wagenius also authored a bill on pesticide preemption, which went a step further, preposing the restoration of local control to all localities in Minnesota. This is the first year that any bill on pesticide preemption has been granted a hearing. Minnesota lawmakers voted to tie the hands of local lawmakers in 1989, and has overturned numerous local laws around pesticides since. 

 

Erin Rupp of Pollinate Minnesota brought to the committee’s attention the importance of city-level ordinances around pesticides, particularly in the context of pollinator declines. The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee—which HF 2070 named as Minnesota’s State Bee yesterday—was once one of our most common species. Last year, the bee was officially placed on the endangered species list. Its remaining habitat exists largely in the metro region of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The City of Minneapolis is among a number of cities that have asked for their local control back from the state—most recently, six city officials from across Minnesota led efforts to oppose preemption in the 2018 Farm Bill. 

 

Willa Childress of Pesticide Action Network added that many pesticide issues are regional, and require a regional approach. In the four cities of the first class that would be exempted from preemption by HF 212, most pesticide use is cosmetic, and not handled by certified professionals. 

 

"Working with farmers and beekeepers, both urban and rural families across Minnesota, it is clear to me that a blanket regulatory system for pesticides just isn’t working. And our preemption laws prevent communities from taking action when an issue arises.”

 

Proponents of the bill aren't asking Minnesota to be a national leader on pesticides, but rather to follow the model of many other states that never have had pesticide preemption laws, or worked to reverse them. Alaska, Maine, and Hawaii are among these states. 

We have seen rusty-patched bumblebees outside the metro on friends'  bee-friendly landscapes, proving that the creature is a One Minnesota thing for those who try hard enough.

A fun tweet from the hearing

An @LSPnow member, Margot Monson, is testifying in support of reinstating local control of first-class cities of pesticides. I learned she’s the chief author’s (@jdavnie’s) cousin, who didn’t know she was going to testify, and I love the photo I snapped of Margot laughing. 💚 pic.twitter.com/cY28aIr9Xb

— Amanda Babcock (@amandanbabcock) March 12, 2019

Photo: A rusty-patched bumblebee, an endangered species which has a good chance of becoming Minnesota's state bee, if another of Hansen's bills passes. Bumblebees and many small native bees are often more sensitive to neonics and other pesticides, according to testimony on Tuesday.  Photo via US Fish and Wildlife Service.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

VIDEO: Bill for truth-in-labeling for pollinator-friendly plants heard in Ag & Food Division

A truth-in-labeling bill to once more make sure plants and seeds labelled "pollinator-friendly" are in fact free of the poisons that might weaken or kill them was heard in the Minnesota House Ag & Food Policy and Finance Division Tuesday.

Here's beekeeper Erin Rupp testifying in favor of the bill (full testimony in the video below0:

Listening to Erin Rupp with @pollinatemn testifying in favor of HF 1908 https://t.co/PHksGK9ZCR 🐝🐝🐝 #mnleg #pollinator #savethebees pic.twitter.com/Rsp7u4TLRU

— Rep. Rick Hansen (@reprickhansen) March 12, 2019

To understand why this bill is necessary, we must ask reader to hop on the Bluestem Prairie way back machine.

Once upon a time--say April 2014--we posted that HF2798, pollinator-friendly plant labeling bill, was scheduled for House vote on Tuesday, April 29. On April 29, 2014, we reported in Kurt Daudt and the Neonicotinoid Nine: pollinator-friendly plant labeling bill passes 118 to 10:

Tuesday, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted 118 to 10 in favor of HF2798, a bill prohibiting plants treated with pollinator lethal insecticide from being labeled or advertised as beneficial to pollinators.

It doesn't the sale of plants treated with "pollinator lethal insecticides," merely prevents customers who wish to help bees and other pollinators from being misled. It's a truth-in-labeling consumer bill that will help Minnesotans help bees and other pollinators. . . .

Sadly, ten legislators couldn't bring themselves to support this common sense measure.  They are: Mark Anderson, Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, Steve Drazkowski, Sondra Erickson, Tom Hackbarth, Jerry Hertaus, Brian Johnson, Jim Newberger, Joyce Peppin and Peggy Scott.

A friend recommends calling them Kurt Daudt and the Neonicotinoid Nine.

It's not just a feel-good measure. Pollinators are essential for a significant percentage of food from plants, ranging from apples to squash.  

In the Fall 2014 elections, Kurt Daudt's caucus captured the Minnesota House. In the Spring of 2015, we were sad to report in What's a little poison between friends? Industry to have way with MN pollinator-friendly labeling:

It looks like the agrichemical and nursery industries will have their way on pollinator-friendly labeling, the Star Tribune's Josephine Marcotty reports today in Legislature considers changes to nursery law installed last year.

The veteran environmental reporter writes:

A garden plant labeled “pollinator friendly” would no longer need to be free of insecticides, under a change in state law moving through the Legislature.

Last year, after pressure from gardeners and environmentalists, lawmakers passed a rule that nurseries could not market plants as bee- and butterfly-friendly if they were grown with the controversial class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, which have been implicated in the global decline of honeybees and other insects.

This year, the nursery industry has successfully pushed back. New language approved by the House Monday and before the Senate as early as today, says nurseries can advertise a flower as good for bees and butterflies as long as it’s not toxic enough to kill them after one sip of nectar or single load of pollen.

“There is a level of pesticide that is safe for pollinators,” said Tim Power, head of government affairs for the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association. “Last year’s law was passed based on an emotional response rather than scientific facts.”

Advocates who supported last year’s rules change say the new language is misleading to gardeners, who assume that a label with a bee or butterfly on it means that it’s safe for insects.

“It’s not friendly,” said Kristy Allen, a Minneapolis beekeeper who testified in favor of the original law last year. “It’s like saying, well, it’s OK to eat this food that has a little bit of poison because it won’t affect you right away.”

Moreover, it makes the law unwieldy, said Vera Krischik, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota who studies insecticides and insects. . . .

Find out how by reading the rest of the article. This being the case, Bluestem recommends buying only certified organic plants and seeds, or buying from a local nursery that you know doesn't use pesticides.

Now the DFL is back in control of the lower chamber, and Representative Rick Hansen, author of the 2014 language, chairs the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance Division. Today, he appeared before the House Ag and Food Division to offer HF1908, which would restore the 2014 language to Minnesota law.

Here's the testimony from Hansen, as well as others pro and con. Bluestem believes this is a good bill.

The bill was laid on the table for possible inclusion in the Omnibus Ag bill. Here's hoping this common sense, truth-in-labeling language is restored to law. It doesn't prevent the use of pesticides or sale of plant material that's been treated with pesticides to home gardeners. It merely assures that labels mean what they say.

Photo: A rusty-patched bumblebee, an endangered species which has a good chance of becoming Minnesota's state bee, if another of Hansen's bills passes. Bumblebees and many small native bees are often more sensitive to neonics and other pesticides, according to testimony on Tuesday.  Photo via US Fish and Wildlife Service.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

Vang bill will end MN commercial turtle selling

When Bluestem's publisher was a child growing up in Southern Minnesota, her family would catch and butcher one common snapping turtle for fried turtle, which is delicious. But as the years went by, we know longer harvested them, however tasty they are, as their numbers seemed to be declining.

We weren't mistaken in that observation. The Minnesota Zoo notes on its entry for the Common snapping turtle:

How they’re doing
In Minnesota, common snapping turtles can be trapped for their meat by licensed trappers. This species was listed by the state as a Species of Special Concern in 1984, because of concerns about possible over-trapping.

New trapping rules were added in 2004 to help prevent further decline of this species. In August 2013, the snapping turtle was removed from the Minnesota list of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species. This species has no special federal status.

We no longer catch and eat snappers. Since we've moved to the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota, we enjoy them only in a  Dakota folktale collected by Amos Oneroad and Alanson Skinner.or when we see them strolling around on their tippy-toes on the BIA back roads.

But turtles in Minnesota continue to be under pressure, says wildlife biologist Christopher Smith, who sits on the Board of Directors for the Center for North American Herpetology (CNAH).

On March 5, Smith testified in favor of first-term Brooklyn Center DFL state representative Samantha Vang's HF749, a bill that end the renewal and transfer of turtle seller and turtle seller's apprentice licenses. Recreational turtle licenses to gather turtles for personal use would remain legal and a person with "an aquatic farm license with a turtle endorsement or a private fish hatchery license with a turtle endorsement" could "sell, obtain, possess, transport, and propagate turtles and turtle eggs."

According to Smith, many states have banned commercial turtle sellers, and those conservation measures have caused more pressure to be put on Minnesota's turtle population--and harvest pressures are not sustainable for the slow-growing creatures.

A few tweets about the hearing--since news about turtles seems to be slow-moving and these ancient reptiles don't see to have lobbyists in St. Paul:

Working on saving Minnesota’s turtles in the Environment & Natural Resources Committee today! Thanks to @RepSamanthaVang for authoring and @RepFueLee for presenting the bill! #savetheturtles #mnleg pic.twitter.com/JRjhsFT38x

— Kelly Morrison (@Morrison4MN) March 5, 2019

Yes, DNR is concerned about decline in Minnesota turtle population, DNR deputy commissioner says. #mnleg #mnturtle Fabian takes side of commercial turtle industry. "Engage stakeholders."

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) March 5, 2019

.@jbeckerfinn reads letter from one of her constituents who's a turtle expert concerned with population declines and pressure of commercial harvest. #mnleg #mnturtle

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) March 5, 2019

Thank you @RepSamanthaVang, @RepFueLee, and @reprickhansen for the opportunity to testify on behalf of HF 749 — a bill meant to eliminate unsustainable commercial turtle harvest in Minnesota. #Turtles #mnleg pic.twitter.com/eZDPODgCkV

— Christopher E. Smith (@FieldEcology) March 6, 2019

Listen to audio of the bill's hearing here.

For more information on Minnesota's turtles, check out this 2011 pdf on the DNR's website (note that it was created while snapping turtles were still considered a species of special concern).

Photo: A common snapping turtle--which is not that common anymore--via the Minnesota Zoo.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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State Supreme Court to hear MN Sands challenge of Winona Co frac sand ordinance on April 10

Bluestem has been covering the issue of local government frac sand mining moratoria in Minnesota since 2011 with posts like Connecting the dots on fracking sand: from Hay Creek Township's citizens to the New York Times, then No fracking way: Wabasha County places temporary moratorium on silica sand mining and Winona Co. soil & water board wants fracking sand moratorium; opposition spreads to Olmsted.

In Winona County, citizens organized and the county board passed a silica sand ordinance which effectively bans mining sand for the fracking industrial. The ordinance has withstood two  court challenges, but Minnesota Sands has appealed the ruling to the state's highest court.

The Winona Daily News reported last week in Challenge to Winona County's frac sand ban to be heard by state Supreme Court next month:

The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the legality of Winona County’s ban on frac sand mining on Wednesday, April 10, at the University of Minnesota Law School.

The oral arguments are scheduled to begin at 9:05 a.m.

Minnesota Sands has argued the county’s ban is unconstitutional because it singles out sand used for industrial purposes while allowing mining for local construction uses. The sand is used to fracture shale rock in order to extract oil and natural gas.

The Winona County Board passed the ban in November 2016. The board has allowed mining to continue for construction sand, a cheaper, less pure material used on roadways and for other commercial purposes.

A Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected a lawsuit filed by Minnesota Sands and a group of landowners in July.

The ordinance does not violate the federal Commerce Clause “because it does not favor in-state interests over out-of-state interests,” the appeals panel wrote. “On the contrary, it even-handedly bans all industrial mineral mining, which includes silica-sand mining, within the county.”

The court further ruled that the ordinance does not constitute a “taking” because Minnesota Sands did not apply for conditional use permits in the years leading up to its adoption.

The decision affirmed a ruling by Winona County Judge Mary Leahy issued in November.

In a July statement, Minnesota Sands said a dissenting opinion from Judge Matthew Johnson recognizes its concerns about the discriminatory nature of the ban.

Read the entire article at the Winona Daily News. Visit the Minnesota State Supreme Court's website here.

Photo: Citizen organizing for the ordinance included yard signs like this one in Winona.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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