Activist questions state

survey

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Most Minnesotans are satisfied with their water-related outdoor recreation, but a majority of them believe state water quality is declining rather than improving.

Results of a survey conducted by the University of Minnesota were released Saturday.

Survey questions were designed and sponsored by the Minnesota Planning and Department of Natural Resources. They will be asked biennially to provide trend information.

Scott Sparlin, New Ulm sportsman, musician and Coalition for a Clean Minnesota River (CCMR) official, hopes his initial reaction to the survey is incorrect.

He questioned the value of the survey due to the way the material was presented.

He would like to see the survey altered to compare current perceptions with those of the past.

"I think this survey shows that Minnesotans are becoming more and more desensitized about what water quality is and should be," Sparlin said. "This survey should have asked people that had vivid memory of the water conditions in the 60's and 70's in our lakes and rivers to compare their levels of satisfaction to then."

Sparlin said the word "satisfied" is used to denote water quality that is "swimmable and fishable."

"If you give an orange to someone who hasn't eaten in a week, he will describe it as a feast and he would be "satisfied" with half an orange."

Other survey results:

* most shore land users said their experiences remained the same or improved over the past decade.

* people that fish or boat said their experiences stayed the same or declined.

* forty-three percent of the respondents said they fished in the past year, 52 percent were recreational boaters, and 53 percent took part in shore land-based recreational activities like bird watching, sightseeing, and hiking.

* ninety-seven percent of boaters and shore land users and 85 percent of anglers said they were satisfied with their experience.

* declining water quality conditions were perceived by 47 percent of boaters and 38 percent of anglers and shore land users.

The framework of Gov. Ventura's Water Management Unification Initiative is reported in "Minnesota's Watermarks: Gauging the Flow of Progress 2000/2010."

It is available on the Internet at www.mnplan.state.mn.us/egb/. For a printed copy, call 651-296-3985.

Information will also be provided in an alternate format upon request including Braille, large print, or audio tape. For TTY, contact the Minnesota Relay Service at 1-800-627-3529 and ask for Minnesota Planning.

Last week, Sparlin testified at the State Capitol to the House Environment and Natural Resource Committee on behalf of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).

Sparlin said he feels the $51.4 million in funding will be provided for in this legislative session, although of it may not come immediately.

"People shouldn't be alarmed if initial reports are that the program is not completely funded," Sparlin said. "It may take some bonding to get the whole chunk of money."

Sparlin said he was questioned about the expense of the CREP program by some legislators but felt the political scrutiny was warranted.

The CREP funding bill (HF 532), is supported by a broad-based coalition of about 200,000 members of more than 100 state and local conservation groups, environmental organizations, and local governmental units in state watershed basins.