By Marya Hart
Stewards advocate for policies related to water, forests, and wildlife.
Forests and Wildlife
The Forest and Wildlife team is closely following the Minnesota Climate Change effort called "Our Minnesota Climate". Our Minnesota Climate aims to build greater awareness of the current challenges we face from climate change, communicate how the state government is responding to the climate crisis, and inspire more Minnesotans to get involved and take action. Across the state, we are already seeing the damaging effects of climate change: warming winters, more extreme weather events, and species ranges shifting as ecosystems are being pushed to their limits.
To address the threat of climate change in Minnesota, Governor Walz has put together a Climate Change Subcabinet to identify policies and strategies that will enhance the climate resiliency of Minnesota's natural resources, working lands, and communities. Minnesotans are currently being asked to help shape the Climate Change Subcabinet's priorities and approach to climate change engagement with a public input survey. If you are interested in getting involved and providing feedback about climate issues that affect you the most, you may do so here.
Waters and Wetlands
At their most recent meeting, the Waters and Wetlands Stewards discussed the destruction caused by wake boats, which are a relatively new class of boats designed to create wakes that can be ridden without using a tow rope. The boats move slowly, often ten to twelve miles per hour, but cause a tremendous amount of shoreline damage even at these speeds. Homeowners on Minnesota lakes report that their docks have been ripped up, people have fallen from the shore, and kayakers have been tossed from their crafts when wake boats pass by. They also affect the biology of lakes by stirring up sediment, destroying nesting grounds, and transferring invasive species from one body of water to another. A proposal to keep these boats 200 feet from the shore didn't make it through the state legislature this year, and many researchers say that a 1000 foot restriction is what's really needed.
The Stewards intend to educate themselves, their fellow Sierra Club members, and the general public about this issue over the course of the next year. They're also continuing to prioritize work on road salt, agricultural pollution, and microplastics.