From the St. Paul Pioneer Press, by Chris Niskanen
Thousands of hunters, birdwatchers and environmentalists converged on the state Capitol on Saturday for the common causes of clean water, wildlife habitat and waterfowl.
Billed as the Rally for Ducks, Wetlands and Clean Water, the event marked a rare convergence of outdoor and environmental causes of nearly every stripe, including groups as diverse as the Sierra Club, the Minnesota Bass Federation, Audubon Minnesota and Ducks Unlimited.
Organizers say the purpose was to call attention to water pollution and wetland drainage in Minnesota. Speakers and crowd members urged lawmakers to pass environmentally friendly legislation this session.
About 5,000 people packed the Capitol Mall to hear hunters and environmentalists decry the loss of the state's wetlands and duck-hunting traditions, with many hunters describing last fall's duck season as their worst in 40 years.
The large turnout seemed to surprise some attending state legislators.
Duck hunter Judy Aageson, 68, drove from Willmar, Minn., for the rally, saying she wanted to show her support for the environment for her 19 grandchildren, each of whom she has taken duck hunting.
"They're still draining wetlands,'' said Aageson, wearing a camouflage shirt and two waterfowl calls around her neck. "The whole ecological system is in danger, and that scares me."
Larry Dolphin, 53, a self-described lifelong birdwatcher from Austin, Minn., carried a placard down the Capitol Mall that read, "Save Our Wetlands." He said wetland losses hurt waterfowl and songbirds, and that state policy-makers aren't paying attention.
Recent research indicates Minnesota continues to lose wetlands, despite state and federal laws designed to ensure no net loss of marshes, which filter pollutants and help prevent flooding. Other surveys indicate 40 percent of the state's lakes and rivers are considered "impaired'' under state environmental standards.
A visibly emotional Bud Grant, the former Minnesota Vikings head coach and renowned outdoorsman, implored the crowd to contact lawmakers.
"We have elected a state government that is either unaware, or they don't care,'' he said to loud cheers. "We're here to show them how this works or we can vote them out."
The rally attracted Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson and at least 17 other state lawmakers and the national head of Ducks Unlimited, a conservation group.
Organizers were clearly determined to get lawmakers' attention. At one booth, crowds lined up to fill out cards that will be mailed to their legislators urging them to pass environmental legislation this session. By the rally's end, attendees had filled out 3,980 cards with no duplicates, organizers said.
The rally focused on two key pieces of legislation. One proposal is a ballot question asking voters to dedicate a portion of the state's 6.5 percent sales tax to wildlife, conservation and environmental programs.
There is also a bill called the "Clean Water Legacy" that would increase fees on most of the state's water users, and on septic systems, in order to fund cleanup projects for state rivers and lakes.
Pawlenty and Johnson threw their support behind the dedicated funding ballot question and the Clean Water Legacy bill, but neither offered specifics about how the funding would work. The ballot question, as it is currently proposed, would take $320 million biennially from state coffers.
Pawlenty said he opposed increasing sales taxes, but said a shift in sales tax money could be phased in or it could replace existing environmental funding in order to avoid a deeper budget deficit.
Don Young, executive vice president for the Memphis, Tenn.-based Ducks Unlimited, said his organization was pledging $10 million to spark a $30 million campaign to restore 500 shallow lakes in the state.
Dave Zentner, the chief organizer of the rally and a longtime environmental advocate from Duluth, Minn., voiced optimism about Minnesota's environmental future.
"I feel the winds of change are coming, and they are good winds of change,'' he told the crowd.
