A new blueprint for protecting and improving the Minnesota’s natural resources urges more action to protect shorelines from development and strategies to prevent runoff and flooding.

The Statewide Conservation and Preservation Plan is being turned over to a state panel for discussion. It was prepared for the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources.

Other suggestions are acquiring 54,000 acres of private land within state parks, a new look at state drainage policies and an added emphasis on using perennial crops for biofuels.

The plan recommends using incentives such as tax credits and conservation easements to get the some of the job done. It even said the water that flows underground needs more attention.

The report took 18 months to prepare and can be viewed at mnconservationplan.net.

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Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com