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Adjacent or Affected Jurisdiction Name: .MN DNR Please check the appropriate box: ❑ We have reviewed the proposed Plan Update, do not have any comments, and are therefore waiving further review, o We have reviewed the proposed Plan Update and offer the following comments (attach additional sheets if necessary) The mission of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is to work with citizens to conserve and manage the state's natural resources, to provide outdoor recreation opportunities and to allow for sustainable commercial uses of natural resources. With these things in mind, we appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on Mound View's draft 2040 comprehensive plan. Some portions of the draft plan were not provided, including the surface water plan. Overall, we support the city's commitment to "preserving and retaining natural resources for the future." The following comments outline other ways to further these goals: Natural Resource Inventory. Including an inventory and map of the community's natural resources section would help people become more aware of remaining habitat that may be difficult to see and appreciate. In the Parks, Trails and Community Facilities section, the plan states "The City owns a number of properties that do not have a designated use. Many of these are not publicly accessible, or consist of wetlands and flood plain. The City intends to consider the land's highest and best use, which may be leaving it as open space." Consider showing and describing these areas as wildlife habitat areas that provide multiple values to the city including mental health benefits of nature areas, flood control and infiltration as well as important havens for wildlife traveling through or residing within a developed metro area. Conservation Planning. The DNR supports including data from the Natural Heritage Information System (NHIS) in the Comprehensive Plan. We recommend that the plan include goals and strategies to address how rare species and plant communities will be protected. Two data layers useful for land use and conservation planning include the MBS Native Plant Communities and the MBS Sites of Biodiversity Significance. GIS shapefiles of these data layers can be downloaded from the Minnesota Geospatial Commons. The DNR recommends avoidance of these ecologically -significant areas, especially MBS Sites of Outstanding or High Biodiversity Significance and DNR Native Plant Communities with a conservation status rank of S 1 (critically imperiled), S2 (imperiled), or S3 (vulnerable to extirpation). We recommend that comprehensive plans include a map of both of these layers and a list of the types of native plant communities documented within the plan's boundaries. To ensure compliance with the Minnesota endangered species laws, the DNR encourages communities to check the NHLS Rare Features Data for known occurrences of state -listed species. The NHIS Rare Features Data contains nonpublic data and can only be accessed by submitting a License Agreement Application Form for a GIS shapefile or by submitting a NHIS Data Request Form for a database printout. Both of these forms are available at the NI-IIS webpage. Consider adding a discussion of what the city can do to preserve the species and preserve needed habitat into the future. For more information on the biology, habitat use, and conservation measures of these rare species, please visit the DNR Rare Species Guide. NHIS training includes rules for using/displaying nonpublic data in public documents. Links: MBS Sites of Biodiversity Significance h ttp:JIww w.d nr.slate. nt n. us/eco/mc bs/biod i vers itygu idc l i n es . htm l MBS Native Plant Communities 2401 Mounds View Blvd. Mounds View, MN 55112 (763) 717-4000 * Fax (763) 717-4019 www.moundsvlew-mn.org * info@moundsviewmn.arg