Minnesota Forests for the Future Program

This program is made possible by funds from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.

The Minnesota Forests for the Future Program was established by the 2008 Minnesota Legislature (Minnesota Statutes, Section 84.66). It builds on the success of the Forest Legacy Program and uses federal Forest Legacy funds as one of its funding sources.

The Minnesota Forests for the Future Program:

• Conserves private forestlands throughout the state that, in combination with public forestlands, provide:

1. public recreational access;

2. timber production and other economic opportunities

3. ecological values including habitat protection

• Defines a comprehensive set of goals, strategies, and targets that respond to land development and fragmentation, climate change, recreational access, and changes in the forest economy.

• Builds on past efforts that used federal, state, and private funds to acquire easements on over 330,000 acres of private forestland in the past 10 years.