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Martin Moylan

Millions in grants available for improving fish and wildlife habitats

A pair of turtles perch on a log on Little Rock Lake.
A pair of turtles perch on a log on Little Rock Lake near where the lake feeds into the Mississippi River outside of Rice, Minn. on Friday, June 22, 2018.
Paul Middlestaedt for MPR News File

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Groups that want to improve Minnesota fish and wildlife habitat can seek millions of dollars in state grants through the Department of Natural Resources.

In all, $11 million has been set aside to help pay for conservation work on public land or land permanently protected for conservation.

"The intent was to get as many people in the state as involved in conservation as possible, with smaller projects, said Kathy Varble, a grant specialist with the department.

Nonprofits and local governments have until Sept. 24 to request the grants from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Applicants may request up to $400,000 through the Conservation Partners Legacy (CPL) grant program. But they must also have commitments of money or volunteer time from sources other than state agencies. Those pledges must equal 10 percent of a grant.

In its first nine years of funding, the CPL program has provided more than $52 million for habitat projects throughout Minnesota.

Funding comes from the Outdoor Heritage Fund, which was created after voters approved the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment in 2008.