Lakeland Currents, your public affairs program for north central Minnesota.

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Hello again friends.

I'm Jason Edens, your host of Lakeland Currents.

Thanks for joining the conversation today and thanks for your ongoing support of Lakeland Public Broadcasting.

As we all know very well, northern Minnesota is home to some of the cleanest water on the planet, as well as unique aquatic and shoreline ecosystems.

Here on Lakeland Currents we've visited with a number of organizations, both public and private, that are working tirelessly to keep it that way.

Today we're visiting with the Northern Waters Land Trust to learn about their unique approach to conservation.

My guests today are Elizabeth Mboutchom, who is the Director of Development and Education, and Annie Knight, who's the grants officer.

Elizabeth and Annie, welcome to the program and thanks for making time for our conversation.

Thank you, Jase, nice to be here.

Well, first of all, just to... Actually, before we start talking about the work that you do at the Northern Waters Land Trust, I'm curious, what is a land trust?

Well, a land trust is an organization where we get to proactively protect land and so we have, we can serve land in two (2) different ways; either through a Fee Title Acquisition, or a Conservation Easement.

We can talk a little bit more about that in depth later on, but essentially, a land trust gets to proactively protect land permanently for the future.

What does it mean for land to be in a trust?

I guess I'm still not exactly clear what that means.

Yeah, so a lot of land trusts will, like I said ..we have those two (2) different tracks, so for a Conservation Easement, a land owner, it's an agreement between a land owner and a land trust.

The land owner continues to own their land, but they agree to limiting or prohibiting development on that land.

So, what the land trust is there for - is ensuring that the land doesn't get developed in the future.

So that agreement is actually a legal agreement, it's written into the title of the property saying "this land is going to be conserved forever, no matter who owns the land later on", and so where the land trust comes into play is, like I said, ensuring that that land is conserved; checking up on that land annually to make sure that the land isn't developed, and then as the property transfers hands, that land trust is there, and it has that backbone to make sure that that land gets to stay in in that natural state.

The land trust is really the backbone behind why a Conservation Easement works.

Then on the flip side of that, for an Acquisition, we get to either pay for land or buy land from land owners, OR accept donated land from landowners, and then either we can hold on to that land-manage that land long term, or what we typically do at Northern Waters Land Trust - is find an agency to convey that land to- long term, so either through to the DNR, or local county, or the U.S. Forest Service to manage that land long term.

So the land trust, we get to be kind of that intermediary between initially purchasing or accepting that donated land and then transferring that land to an agency to manage long term.

So this is really a legally nuanced process then.

Maybe it'd be best if we zoom out initially, and let me ask you this, Elizabeth, what's the connection between preserving land and protecting water?

Well, all of our water is part of a watershed, and we have very much a watershed focus, which is more of a "whole picture" focus, so all of the land in an area will drain into one spot; so it can drain into a lake, it can drain into a stream , or a river, and that's called The Watershed, and everything that happens within that Watershed impacts our water supply, even if you're not right near the water.

So we have to look at what's going on throughout the whole watershed, and certain areas of the watershed can have more of an impact on the water than others.

One of the things we do is we look at different pieces of land in the watershed, and try to identify land that is more critical to protecting our water quality and our fisheries, etc, and we try to preserve THAT land.

We can't conserve everything, so we have to be very strategic about it and conserve lands that are particularly impactful on our water resources.

So what characterizes a parcel of land that would be critical to the preservation of that watershed?

It depends on what you're looking at - certain areas of land, forests for example, are wonderful filters for water and they do that naturally for us.

Certain areas in the lake are spawning ground for fish, and so we look at how that area is impacted by development, and maybe a particular part of a lake needs protection more than another part of it.

We look at it also for fish or ducks and loons, they need nesting grounds, so we try to identify properties that are particularly critical for their nesting grounds, and so we-one side properties are-- there's a scoring system, depending on what you're looking at.

The DNR, in particular, has a scoring system and if you're looking at loons or you're looking at ducks, you're looking at certain fish and try to identify where the land needs to be conserved to protect those species.

Well, you've both already mentioned things that have triggered a whole bunch of questions, but I want to zoom out yet again, and ask you - What, exactly, is the mission of the Northern Waters Land Trust"?

Well, our mission is real simple, it's To Preserve Land to Protect Water.

To Preserve Land to Protect Water.

Yes.

You mentioned the DNR, do you work WITH state agencies in order to acquire this land, or is this simply a relationship between you and the land owner?

We work with a number of agencies; the DNR, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the County - we work with them, especially when we're looking at our scoring metrics, to make sure that we're using the most up-to-date scientific methods for prioritizing the parcels that we're protecting, and then we also work with them, especially hand-in-hand with our acquisitions, so when we have a land owner come to us and they say "hey, we love our land, we've worked really hard to make sure that this land is restored, is beautiful, and we know that it's environmentally significant because the land is special to us and you have said that it, or we (Northern Waters Land Trust) has said that it is significant, but maybe this land owner doesn't want to continue to own their land, maybe it's just gotten too much to manage, but they want to make sure it doesn't get developed, and so they can come to Northern Waters Land Trust and if it's on our priority list for protection, and within one of our grant programs, we can purchase that land, or accept that donated land.

That's where we work with the DNR, so as a Land Trust, we do manage some land, but we also convey or transfer that land to the DNR for an Aquatic Management Area or a Wildlife Management Area, so when the land owner comes to us, we first check with the DNR to see if it's a priority for them, to make sure "Hey, is this land something that you would be willing to accept into your plethora of land that you're already managing'?

If it is, then it's great, we get to work hand in hand with them.

We have the funding to purchase that land which is a really unique position, It's a really great partnership because as Northern Waters Land Trust, we're a non-profit, we're able to seek those grant funds and then we can use that grant funding to then acquire the land, transfer it to the DNR.

So the land is actually moving from a private land owner to a state agency?

Yes.

That the state agency, (in this case, the DNR) actually takes ownership of the land.

Is that what I'm hearing you say?

Yep, that's correct.

So the folks that are choosing to work with you all, the land owners that are choosing to work with you all, are basically giving up their land or are they selling their land?

Can you tell us a little bit more more about the mechanics of how this works, assuming I'm a landowner who has this critical type of land?

Yeah, so if you were a land owner we'd say, "Jase, what are your goals and dreams for the land?

There's these two (2) tracks for conservation, and if you're looking to sell your land, then we would go down the Acquisition track, and that is where it becomes directly involved with the DNR.

That's when we see if it's a priority for the DNR, and you could either sell your land to us to then transfer to the DNR, or you could DONATE your land to us, and then we would facilitate that transfer to the DNR.

That's the Fee Title Acquisition track, right?

Yes, right.

Good.

But, if you're like "No, I really want to continue owning my land, I have/we have our kids - they come up, they love using our land, they love hanging out on the lake, we want to continue owning it but we also want to make sure that it's conserved.

That's when we can go the Conservation Easement track/route, so you get to continue owning your land, you get to continue doing what you love on the land, so long as you don't further develop your land.

So you both use the term "development" or "to see land get developed", what exactly does that mean, Elizabeth?

Well, "development" is talking about usually a lot of construction, such as somebody could sell their land and a shopping center could be put on it, or something, a factory or something, and when we say that it can't be developed, it means you can't do any kind of development like that on the land.

If somebody has an easement on their land and they have a lake cabin on there, they continue to have their lake cabin and use it as Annie had said, but they can't build more.

They can't parcel it out and have more houses built on the land.

So there's some limitations, because we want to keep as much of that land with forest and plants as possible, to create that natural habitat and those buffer zones for our lakes and rivers, but then, with people with the conservation easements people can continue to enjoy their land and have their land, but it also gives them a sense of security because we get a lot of people who , they have this land for a long time and they love it, but they're "What's going to happen to it when I'm gone"?

"I've worked really hard to make this place beautiful and restore the shoreline."

With the easement, even when it's passed on to heirs, or if somebody later on decides to sell the land, then it continues to be protected and it cannot be developed even when it changes hands.

So with the Conservation Easement track , the land owner can continue to use the land but it can't be subdivided or developed, is that correct?

Correct.

There is one...sometimes land owners will come to us and they have just a blank parcel of land that's completely undeveloped and they want to have it conserved, but they go "Oh but I really was wanting to build a little cabin on it, or a little cottage on the land at some point."

You can carve out, we call it a building envelope, just a section of land that in the future they could build a structure on that land, but that land would not be included in the conservation easement, but everything else surrounding that land would.

That's where it's really helpful to sit down with a land owner and say "What are your dreams, what are your goals?

", so that we can make sure that we have very clear lines of communication, to make sure that your goals are being met, as well as our conservation goals, and which are, in the end, mutual.

Everything is a mutual goal.

Sure.

Let's talk a little bit about the track history of the organization.

How long has your organization been doing this?

Northern Waters Land Trust has been doing conservation since 1995 in north central Minnesota.

W - e primarily work in the four counties of Aitkin, Cass, Crow Wing, and Hubbard; which includes over 2000 lakes and many miles of streams and rivers, and there's just so much pristine water in this region.

Within that, we have, as we mentioned earlier, we have three (3) basic methods of the conservation, the two (2) tracks Annie talked about, the Fee Title Acquisition and the Conservation Easements, and then we also do Educational Outreach, which includes a variety of workshops for people, like resilient shorelines.

We do workshops on cabin succession planning, and also on wildlife in our area - just to help people understand their area and the options available to them with their land.

We also have a monthly radio show on Northern Community Radio where we have a guest speaker each month and we kind of dive into a specific conservation topic so you can tune in each month and learn more about conservation in the area.

And that's on KAXE?

Yes, it is.

Then now, as the weather's warming up finally, we'll be doing a lot more community outreach, where we do some watershed education at community events, so we'll be seeing a lot more people around the four-county service area.

Where might you go, where can we see you?

Well, tomorrow we were planning on being at the Northland Arboretum for the Arbor Day event but that just got canceled due to the cold weather and the rain, so a little disappointed, it was our first chance to really get out this season, but we'll be at the Rivers and Lakes Fair in Palisade in Aitkin County in June, and then we'll be up in Backus and the Pine River area in May for the Back to Basics outdoor spring fair so just a number of events throughout the season in the area.

You mentioned a resilient shoreline, what is that?

A resilient shoreline is one that is more durable, okay?

So, for example, if you have trees and plants along a shoreline, the root system helps hold that shoreline in place and prevents erosion and it also helps filter runoff before it goes into the lake.

So when the land is cleared, you know everybody wants a nice view, but when the land is completely cleared and we mow right to the edge, that makes the shoreline more vulnerable to erosion and it also allows more contaminated runoff into our water which can affect water quality.

By helping people understand the different kinds of plants that they can do, and how they can have certain open areas but also have areas with trees and plants, we can make those shorelines stronger and more resilient.

So this work has been done by the Northern Waters Land Trust since 1995.

How much land has been put into trust, and is that the correct way to describe that?

Well, we have conserved land through multiple different avenues by working with the DNR and Cass County.

We work hand in hand with the Minnesota Land Trust, so they're the other major land trust in the state of Minnesota, and we work with them through our Clean Water Critical Habitat grant- funded program through the Outdoor Heritage Fund.

But we can talk about that a little bit later.

Since 1995, we've protected over 5,500 acres of land and a significant amount of shoreline as well, and it's been really remarkable to to watch our conservation efforts continue, along with our other partners in collaboration as we continue the work that we're doing.

Well, I'm glad you brought up the Minnesota Land Trust because I was curious why would a land owner work with the Northern Waters Land Trust as opposed to The Nature Conservancy, which I believe to be a land trust, or the Minnesota Land Trust or the Land Trust Alliance there are some national organizations, why work with a local organization?

Well, like you said, we are local, we're the "boots on the ground", and we work hand in hand with a lot of those agencies.

One thing that we like to talk about in in the conservation world is that we're all singing from the same song book, you know.

We're all, our end goal is conservation and protecting the natural areas that we still have, and we have the North Central Roundtable Conversations, which happen on a quarterly basis throughout the year, where we meet with The Nature Conservancy, the Trust For Public Land, the Minnesota Land Trust, the counties, and the DNR - to get everyone at the same table, make sure that we're complementing each other and not stepping on each other's toes.

I think that's especially unique in our area, and throughout Minnesota, is that we do have that collaborative approach.

But why work with Northern Waters Land Trust?

We're locally based, we work ,specifically, hand in hand with the Minnesota Land Trust so it's nice that we aren't competing in that way, and when we work with the Minnesota Land Trust through the grants that we have through the outdoor heritage fund which is money that comes from the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment that was passed in 2008.

With that fund, we have been doing a grant program since 2014 , it's called our Clean Water Critical Habitat Program.

How we work with the Minnesota Land Trust is they do the Conservation Easements, and then we do the Outreach and the Fee title acquisitions.

So as we get to connect with land owners on a local basis, the Minnesota Land Trust really appreciates that because we are the "Boots on the Ground", we're located in Walker, we know the people that are living in the area, we're really well connected with the lake associations, that's all outreach that comes pretty organically for us just because of our location and our flexibility as a small non-profit, and then once we connect with those land owners and they're interested in that Conservation Easement track, we give them the base knowledge of what that is, we collect their land owner application, and then we go through a formal review process of the applications, and then, in collaboration with the Minnesota Land Trust, we get to select which properties to use our funding on, and then the Minnesota Land Trust takes it on from the Easement side, or we take it on from the Acquisition side.

So when would you say No to a land owner?

It depends on how many applications we get in and where the specific parcels rank on our scoring metrics.

We have a, kind of a baseline of 20 acres of land for a land owner.

We work within specific watersheds, so if a land owner lives outside of that watershed, then we would say "Oh, you know, we don't currently have funding for your property, but we might know someone who does".

That's where it's really helpful to be in constant contact with our other conservation partners in the area.

There's a lot of times, I think, just yesterday, where I was reaching out to Hubbard County Soil and Water Conservation District saying "Hey, I just talked to this really great land owner he wants to conserve his land, it falls outside of our grant-funded area, do you have a program'?

In this case, yes, they did , so I'm excited to help facilitate that conversation.

Which is really nice, because if a land owner comes to us, they know that they can get the resources from us because we do have those various connections.

It seems very collaborative.

Yeah.

A very collaborative environment.

Isn't it possible, though, for a land owner to do this work directly with the county?

Why would they have to do this in partnership with The Northern Waters Land Trust?

Well, I mean, the county is in the same position as we are, they might not have the funding available to help that land owner or perhaps it's outside of their grant-funded service area.

This is why we have the collaborative talks, to make sure that we're not overlapping in our areas.

So both Northern Waters Land Trust and public entities, such as counties, are providing this service to the community, is that right?

Yes, depending on the area, and then, the counties also provide other services that we don't.

They're really engaged in the shoreline work and the restoration side of things, versus Northern Waters Land Trust, where really, our niche is to proactively protect the land before it needs restoration.

Which is nice, because it financially costs a lot less money to proactively protect something than to have to restore it and put all those resources into bringing that land back to its natural state.

Sure, we recently learned about the "One watershed-one plan" approach here on Lakeland Currents, and you mentioned the watershed approach.

Do you really identify watersheds where you're targeting your acquisitions, or your land trust work, or how, exactly, does that work within this 4-county service shed?

I would say, you're looking at the whole watershed, so by looking at the whole watershed, we get a more comprehensive approach, and like I said before, it's a more holistic approach to it, and in collaboration with our partners, not only do we make sure we're not stepping on each other's toes, but we make sure we're not ..we're filling in any gaps and there's not any areas being left behind in programs, because we have a variety of different programs, and we can complement each other and so the whole concept behind the "one watershed-one plan" is really to be a more cohesive approach to protecting our water resources.

Historically, it wasn't done that way.

Things were looked at in a very disjointed method ; you know, where you look at one lake or one part of a river or something, and we weren't looking at the whole watershed, so things that were taking place throughout the watershed were impacting water resources, and so to have this more cohesive and comprehensive approach is much more proactive and it's much more effective in protecting our water resources and, as Annie mentioned, to be proactive and protect our water resources, that any time and money invested in that is much more cost effective and efficient than trying to restore land or clean up water later.

So you are working then, in partnership with counties to identify critical habitat and critical shoreline to preserve, is that correct?

Yes.

Well, if you're buying land through your Fee Title Acquisition track, Right.

that's costly, how are you paying for this?

Our main grant fund that we have been using for our acquisitions and our easements over the last eight (8) years has been through the Outdoor Heritage Fund, and that's through the Clean Water Land and Legacy amendment, so our grant is the Clean Water Critical Habitat grant, it started in 2014, and that's the one that we're doing in collaboration with the Minnesota Land Trust, and it is a watershed-based approach, so we're looking specifically at Tullibee Refuge lakes.

These are deep, cold-water lakes that support Tullibee.

Such as 10 Mile, and Hackensack, for example.

Yeah, there you go, and so Tullibee is this fish, it's a foraging fish, that is an essential food supply for Muskie, Northern Pike, Walleye, and then up in the northern parts of the state, Lake Trout.

We like to call Tullibee a "snickers bar" for those big game fish.

They're just super rich in nutrients, but they're also an"Indicator species", so Tullibee are really susceptible to warming water temperatures, and then deoxygenated water.

They live in this special zone in the lake that they can't go into warm water, otherwise they'll die, and they need well-oxygenated water, so if the deep water becomes deoxygenated, then those fish will suffocate.

They're an "indicator species" because, as our waters increase in temperature, this zone that the Tulibee live in, it decreases throughout the summer and we want to make sure that that these don't meet, because if the deoxygenated water in the depths of the lake rises and meets the warm water, then those Tullibee die.

There's no niche.

There's no niche, yeah, so our goal is to protect these deep cold water Tulabee Refuge lakes, and those lakes have been identified by the DNR, specifically by a retired DNR fisheries researcher, Pete Jacobson, and Pete has identified that if we can protect 75 percent of these Tullibee Refuge watersheds, and keep them undeveloped, keep those watersheds forested, then those lakes and thus, the Tullibee, have a much better chance at withstanding the impacts of climate change and warming water temperature.

So, in spite of global climate change, by acquiring land in that watershed, you can actually manage the temperature column in those lakes.

It makes them more resilient because the trees, the forest, the grasses, all help with temperature but they also help with keeping the lake system clean and healthy.

Within the lake system, there's many different plants and animals that are all the lungs and the heart of the lake, so to speak, and if we keep all of that healthy, then it can withstand certain changes to a degree, and it just makes it stronger and more resilient to that.

As that becomes compromised, and we have less of an area to work with, then they become more vulnerable to changes in the future.

Well, I wish we had more time, but we only have time for a couple more questions.

I noticed on your website that you have a Diversity Equity and Inclusivity Statement, and yet, your board, if I'm not mistaken, is exclusively men, Why is that?

Well, it hasn't always been.

We have had women on our board, we had four (4) women on our board and they recently came to the end of their board term, so that is a very recent observation that you made of our board.

We are actively looking for more board members, we have a female representation from our staff, and our board members are very active and involved and they work hand in hand with with our staff.

There's definitely a representation there.

Well, I'm curious about your motivations.

Why do you do this work, Elizabeth?

Why do I do this?

Well, I'm originally from central Minnesota, and I've lived in a lot of different places.

I was in the Peace Corps in Africa, I lived in other parts of the U.S. and other countries and other places I've lived have had water shortages and I've had contaminated water.

I was living in a city where the river had warning signs saying "don't swim in this river", "don't eat fish from this river", and then I would..

Excuse me.

I'd come back to Minnesota to visit family and friends and I'd see people jumping in the river, and swimming and fishing, and it seemed almost surreal, it was like I was stepping back in time because I had been living in so many places where that's not possible anymore.

So a few years ago, I moved back to Minnesota specifically to work on protecting our lakes and rivers here because living in other places made me realize how special this area is, and how lucky we are to still have clean water in this area.

Annie, very briefly.

Well, I've grown up coming and swimming in these lakes my whole entire life and when I went to college for Environmental Studies, I just came to really appreciate water quality that I had been enjoying my whole life, but then understanding it on a deeper level and living in and working in Walker, Minnesota just was a natural progression for me, going as a person who recreates in the area to a person that gets to protect the area, and I feel incredibly grateful to do that.

Well, I want to thank you for not only taking the time to visit today, but thank you for the work that you do on behalf of our future.

Great, well thank you.

Thank you, I'm super grateful.

Thank you for joining me once again.

I'm Jason Edens, your host of Lakeland Currents.

You can continue the conversation on Twitter.

Tweet me at currentspbs.

Be kind and be well.

We'll see you next week.