The challenges below are listed in order as determined by the 18 participants. The bullet points include additional information highlighting why the participants felt the challenge was important and significant.
- Extreme temperature variations and severe flooding conditions reduce the life of capital assets and increase operational disruptions for public infrastructure. We need to consider new design standards for our stormwater systems to address larger precipitation events and new regulations. There are significant economic costs associated with future designs.
- The severe storms that wash out roads and damage other infrastructure affect everyone entering or exiting our community and require expensive repairs to water and sewer systems (both private and public), power lines, and other assets.
- There is a direct financial impact on residents and taxpayers from severe weather.
- We need to emphasize management of natural resources from a long-term perspective (such as 50 years or more) and use a systems approach (recognizing that everything is interrelated) to more effectively manage and protect natural resources and ensure a legacy for future generations.
- Stormwater runoff can increase sediment and phosphorus load in waterways, which can reduce water quality.
- Increased phosphorus causes algae growth, which can disrupt natural lake habitat and threaten other aquatic species.
- Healthy fisheries depend on good water quality.
- Our runoff affects downstream users (e.g. reducing water quality for municipalities that source their drinking water from the Mississippi River)
- Fish community composition is changing. This will affect angling opportunity, Minnesota’s fishing economy, and our outdoor culture.
- Fishing in our region is important economically and culturally.
- Changes in fish composition leads impacts other wildlife.
- Though this change is happening, it may present new opportunities, not exclusively negative impacts.
- We are experiencing vast temperature extremes (ex. early springs followed by a cold snap) that affect the availability of food (shifts in timing between plants blooming and insects emerging after winter) and the prevalence of suitable habitat for some bird and insect species, which threaten the populations of these species.
- Negative impacts on pollinators (bees) could threaten our food supply, at least for certain items.
- These changes may exacerbate the threats insects face from the use of pesticides.
- Emerald Ash Borer is expanding its territory into northern Minnesota and Itasca County because of warmer winters. The Emerald Ash Borer will wipe out our black ash forests, which grow in wet areas that may not be suitable for replacement by other tree species.
- Ash trees are important to our local economy.
- The loss of ash trees would be especially devastating to the Chippewa National Forest.
- There will be less water and more water at different times, because of changes in precipitation patterns and temperature.
- The increasing prevalence of drought in summers reduces the growth and health of pine forests that are overly dense. Reduced growth and declining health in pine forests could negatively impact the timber industry (due to declines in forest productivity) and the tourism industry (due to perceived declines in aesthetic quality).
- Forest health and productivity is extremely important to our local economy.
- The Itasca area will become less hospitable to certain tree species and more favorable to others. This corresponds roughly to tree habitat moving northeast.
- Our economy is tied to our current tree species. Shifts in tree species would required changes at (for example) the paper mill.
- More drastic weather conditions – rainy springs, dry summers, unpredictable snow conditions – potentially mean fewer tourists choosing to stay in Grand Rapids and Itasca County. Tourism is a very important driver of local economic activity.
- It’s important to keep in mind that these changes impact residents as well as tourists.
Go back to learn more about the Itasca Climate Dialogue!