This project helps Local Units of Government (LGUs) and the DNR evaluate whether landowner incentives, when appropriately targeted, can effectively protect water and shoreland resources. With this project, Minnesota seeks to grow its own examples of effective incentive programs that remove barriers to shoreland best management practices, pilot tools to enhance conservation benefits, and evaluate these tools' efficacy for broader application.
This project builds local capacity to develop and administer incentives programs and to effectively evaluate results and outcomes.
The project seeks to determine how local conditions affect design and outcomes by engaging in two project areas that represent substantially different land use circumstances.
Finally, the project is intended to determine the financial and social efficacy of the investments in buffer installation and maintenance.
The project is designed to answer the following questions:
- What quality are the buffers that were maintained or restored through the program?
- Can the local unit of government sustain the program into the future?
- Has the program measurably changed awareness, attitudes and behaviors; and if so, are those changes durable or, are they dependent on continued incentive?