PARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL OF MINNESOTA

LAND PROTECTION: LAND ACQUISITION ON BEHALF OF PUBLIC AGENCIES IS A CORE FUNCTION OF THE PARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL OF MINNESOTA, SUPPORTED BY OUR DEDICATED LAND ACQUISITION FUND VALUED AT $5,280,553 MILLION AT THE END OF 2024. IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, THE PARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL FACILITATED FIVE LAND TRANSACTIONS PROTECTING 48.68 ACRES VALUED AT $2.36 MILLION FOR THE PUBLIC'S USE AND BENEFIT. P&TC IS ALSO INVOLVED IN FOUR ACTIVE PROJECTS THAT WILL PROTECT 68 ADDITIONAL ACRES, AND WE ARE HOLDING 105.5 ACRES IN TRUST FOR PUBLIC PARTNERS. SEE SCHEDULE O FOR ADDITIONAL PROGRAM LANGUAGE. IN 2024, P&TC PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE IN SECURING 2.1 MILES OF RIGHT-OF-WAY FOR THE SWEDISH IMMIGRANT REGIONAL TRAILCONNECTING TAYLORS FALLS AND SHAFER TO CENTER CITY, LINDSTROM, AND CHISAGO CITY. THIS MULTI-PARCEL ACQUISITION, REQUIRED P&TC TO PURCHASE LAND FROM THREE PRIVATE LANDOWNERS TO ENSURE THE ENTIRETY OF THE 20-MILE CORRIDOR LINKING THE SUNRISE PRAIRIE TRAIL IN THE WEST TO INTERSTATE STATE PARK IN THE EAST IS IN PUBLIC OWNERSHIP. PROJECT MANAGERS HOPE TO HAVE THE 2.1-MILE SEGMENT ACQUIRED BY P&TC DEVELOPED BY 2026 AND THE ENTIRE TRAIL COMPLETED BY 2028.P&TC'S CONSERVATION MODEL IS FUNDED BY OUR SAMUEL H. MORGAN LAND ACQUISITION FUND. USING THIS FUND, WE NEGOTIATE COMPLEX DEALS AND PURCHASE HIGH QUALITY LAND FROM WILLING SELLERS; WE THEN HOLD THIS LAND IN TRUST WHILE PARTNERING WITH A PUBLIC AGENCY TO CONVEY IT FOR A PARK OR TRAIL. ALL PROCEEDS ARE THEN REINVESTED TO SAVE THE NEXT CRITICAL LAND. TO DATE, NEARLY 10,000 ACRES HAVE BEEN ADDED TO MINNESOTA PARKS AND TRAILS THROUGH THIS INNOVATIVE MODEL. YOU CAN TOUR SOME OF P&TC'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE "IMPACT" SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.PARKSANDTRAILS.ORG AND IN THE 2024 ANNUAL REPORT.

RESEARCH AND PUBLIC POLICY: PARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL PRIDES ITSELF ON MAKING SURE THAT POLICIES WE ADVOCATE FOR ARE INFORMED BY THE BEST AVAILABLE DATA, SCIENCE AND RESEARCH. IN 2024, P&TC ADVANCED SEVERAL STRATEGIC INITIATIVES THAT SUPPORT PARKS AND TRAILS PLANNING, ACCESS, AND POLICY. WE COMPLETED AND PUBLISHED FINAL VISITOR SURVEY REPORTS FOR MOUNTAIN BIKING DESTINATIONS AT GIANTS RIDGE AND THE REDHEAD TRAIL SYSTEM, SHARING INSIGHTS WITH PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS AT THE INAUGURAL ARROWHEAD COALITION OF TRAILS CONFERENCE. SEE SCHEDULE O FOR ADDITIONAL PROGRAM LANGUAGE.WE ALSO DID SOME INITIAL RESEARCH EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY OF A MAJOR EXPANSION OF A NORTH SHORE STATE PARK AND EVALUATED POTENTIAL REPLACEMENT SITES FOR UPPER SIOUX AGENCY STATE PARK, A PARK THAT WAS DECOMMISSIONED IN 2024 ALL WITH THE GOAL OF PROVIDING FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HIGH-QUALITY PUBLIC ACCESS.OUR RESEARCH AND POLICY EFFORTS CONTINUED TO GAIN NATIONAL RELEVANCE IN 2024. WE COLLABORATED WITH IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY AND THE DES MOINES AREA METRO PLANNING ORGANIZATION TO FIELD-TEST TRAIL ROUGHNESS MEASUREMENTS USING OUR CUSTOM-BUILT RESEARCH BIKE, HELPING VALIDATE DATA AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL ROUGHNESS INDEX WITH THE GOAL OF ADVANCING NATIONAL STANDARDS. WE ALSO PROVIDED TECHNICAL GUIDANCE TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS INTERESTED IN REPLICATING OUR METHODS. ADDITIONALLY, WE STUDIED ALTERNATIVE MODELS FOR PROVIDING LOW-COST STATE PARK VEHICLE PERMITS THROUGH THE MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION PROCESSDRAWING ON POLICY MODELS FROM NINE STATESTO HELP INFORM MINNESOTA'S APPROACH TO EQUITABLE PARK ACCESS.FINALLY, AS THE GO TO SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON ALL THINGS PARKS AND TRAILS, P&TC DEVELOPS, MAINTAINS AND UPDATES SEVERAL FACT SHEETS THAT ARE USED BY DECISION MAKERS AND ARE ACCESSIBLE IN THE "OUR RESEARCH" PAGE OF THE "IMPACT" SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.PARKSANDTRAILS.ORG. A SUMMARY OF P&TC'S LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN "PUBLIC INVESTMENT" PAGE OF THE "IMPACT" SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE.