Metropolitan Council
Project Profiles : Metropolitan Council
In a joint effort, the Metropolitan Council, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and other partners teamed up to identify and evaluate the remaining high quality natural areas in the
seven-county metro region. This information will help people make land-use decisions that help protect natural resources by balancing growth and conservation. It is called the Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment
(NRI/A). One of the four main goals of the Council's regional comprehensive plan, now called the 2030 Regional Development Framework is "Conserving the region's vital natural resources." The NRI/A an important tool that
can be used by citizens, local units of government, and others to help conserve the region's remaining unprotected high quality natural areas and to protect and improve the overall natural environment of the region.
The NRI/A identifies the remaining high quality natural resource areas in the region that are considered to be of regional importance and merit some form of preservation. The NRI/A identifies approximately 234,000 acres of the seven-county metro
region as being natural resources of regional importance. This is approximately 12% of the land in the metro region; public or private park or conservation ownership currently protects 88,600 of these acres that make up 4.7% of the region;
wetland classification provides some protection through the Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) to 68,300 of these acres that make up 3.6% of the region; the remaining 73,500 acres of identified NRI/A land that make up the 3.9% of the region
are considered unprotected.
The NRI/A map was completed and presented to the Council in the fall of 2002. The DNR has since suggested some modifications to the NRI/A originally approved by the Council. Council staff has completed a regional Aquatic Resource Assessment
that compliments the NRI/A of natural areas. It is available on the Council's web site www.metrocouncil.org/environment/Watershed/reports/index.
The Council intends to incorporate the NRI/A in the updated "Regional Development Framework 2030" regional comprehensive plan scheduled to be approved in January 2004. After that plan is approved, the Council intends to set up a natural
resource task force to review the NRI/A data and approve an updated version. The task force will also make suggestions on ways to incorporate the NRI/A into regional planning, local comprehensive plan review and into regional system plans.
Support for local governments. The Council staff reviews local comprehensive plans and provides technical assistance to local units of governments. The Council has six sector representatives that represent different parts of the region. They provide assistance
in coordination with technical experts at the Council. The Council's Regional Parks and Open Space System also works with natural resource issues. See www.metrocouncil.org/parks/parks_partners for information and staff contacts or call the Council's general information number
651 602-1000 to be connected with the appropriate staff person.
The Council will partner with the DNR and others to provide technical assistance to local communities to help conserve their local natural resources in addition to the regionally important natural resource identified in the NRI/A. The Council can provide
assistance with planning tools like conservation-oriented development, low impact development, conservation easement programs, natural resource protection-oriented land use zoning and compatible local zoning ordinances.
To view maps related to the NRI/A: from the Council's home page, under "Community Assistance" select "Geographic Information" and then select on the green bar on the right side of the page " GIS maps."
The following maps are NRI/A related.
An updated map of regionally important natural areas will be available after it is reviewed and approved by the natural resource task force and the Council.
Also see the DNR Project Profile: Regional Significant Ecological Areas for related NRI/A information.
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