The Nature Conservancy Applauds Governor Walz, Calls on Legislature to Pass Bold Nature and Climate Investments in Minnesota State Budget

Ann Mulholland, director of The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, comments on the recent release of climate investments in Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s executive budget proposal for FY 2024-2025.

For decades, Minnesota has experienced inadequate investment in the environment. To address the massive scale of our current climate crisis and secure our economic future, we need a transformational shift in how we value nature. Leveraging our historic state budget surplus to invest in natural climate solutions is a smart idea.

The Nature Conservancy applauds Governor Tim Walz and state agency leaders for developing an executive budget proposal that includes several important investments in nature. These investments, like planting trees and restoring forests, building soil health on farmland, and protecting invaluable lands and waters including forests, grasslands, peatlands, rivers and lakes, will capture more carbon on Minnesota’s working lands and natural areas while providing important benefits like clean water, flood protection, wildlife habitat to support biodiversity and economic growth.

This year’s legislative session is a critical time for lawmakers to take bold climate action. As legislators begin budget deliberations, they should seek to build upon proposals in the executive budget and embrace a greater overall investment in nature to protect the lands and waters Minnesotans love. 

As one of the fastest warming states in the nation, Minnesota and its people already face the effects of climate change every day. Natural climate solutions are cost-effective, proven strategies to make meaningful progress on tackling climate change, and bold investments today will pay off for future generations. These bipartisan solutions should continue to receive greater attention and more robust funding in legislators’ final state budget.