By: Hailey Colwell

Students and conservationists convened Friday for the Minnesota Environmental Congress, the culmination of a discussion that began in November 2012 about short- and long-term goals for the state’s climate and energy future.

The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, a 14-member committee of citizens and state commissioners, led panels focused on Minnesota’s Environment and Energy Report Card, a document outlining water, land, air, energy and climate issues. Citizens were invited to participate in choosing the issues within these categories that they found most pressing.

Topics from the congress will be compiled into a report to help the Environmental Quality Board and Gov. Mark Dayton set environmental goals for the state.

Dayton spoke at the beginning of the congress, mentioning that though the budget debates many Minnesotans are engaged in are important, conservation work is the “prerequisite” for other political discussion.

“Nothing that we can accomplish will last if we don’t protect, reserve and improve this planet,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., made a surprise appearance at the congress, addressing participants about her efforts to pass a new farm bill that would also help with state resource conservation.

Klobuchar said she believes the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock near the Stone Arch Bridge should be closed to prevent invasive Asian carp from swimming upstream and damaging the local ecosystem. In order to do this, research would need to be conducted to find an environmentally sound way to remove the carp, she said.

“It’s not just about closing locks,” she said. “It’s about putting protection in place.”

The conference used input from six citizen forums held in November and December.

Though the Environmental Quality Board reported a low turnout from young people at the citizen forums, a number of students and youth from across the state addressed the congress on their stake in the state’s ecological future.

“Youth anticipate a future, and this future extends beyond semesters, graduation and fiscal years,” said University of Minnesota senior Juan Medina-Bielski in his speech to the congress. “You must make relatively moderate changes now to avoid forsaking future generations.”

Medina-Bielski said politicians should make it easier for people to make sustainable choices by developing the public transit system and making streets more bike-friendly. They should also work to replace Minnesota’s fossil fuel use with more renewable energy generation, he said.

“We are not endowed with but rather import fossil fuels,” Medina-Bielski said. “They will not be around much longer, and we must start acting like it or future Minnesota will be caught with its pants down.”