State Senator Amy Koch and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are encouraging area residents to attend a DNR informational meeting regarding proposed changes to the state’s aquatic plant management rules Monday, July 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Wright County courthouse in the community room, located at 10 Second Street NW in Buffalo.

The DNR will have a short presentation at the meeting. Senator Koch stated, “I would like area residents to ask questions and to have input on the proposed rule changes.” The DNR has regulated control of aquatic plants since the 1940s. The original purpose of the program was to allow shoreline property owners to remove aquatic plants where it was necessary to gain access to open water, while protecting the habitat and water quality values that aquatic plants provide. The rule changes come in light of increased shoreline development and the spread of invasive aquatic plants.

Proposed changes include:
• Changes that will prevent long stretches of shoreline from being denuded of critical near-shore habitat.
• Provide grandfather lake groups an opportunity to develop a lake vegetation management plan with the DNR before the grandfather clause is terminated.
• Variance and permit criteria provisions that will provide more consistency in permit decision making. For more information about the meeting, call Senator Koch’s office at (651) 296-5981. For other press releases from the DNR, as well as Chris Schultz’s Outdoors Column, click here.