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Committee lays over series of tree bills: drought seedling purchases, emerald ash borer response and metro tree-planting grants
Summary
Lawmakers laid over three related bills to extend drought-replanting authority, fund emerald ash borer response, and provide metro tree-planting grants; DNR and nursery industry representatives described nursery stock constraints and deployment plans.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The committee considered a cluster of bills aimed at replanting and managing trees across Minnesota, laying them over for possible inclusion in future legislation.
Representative Fue Lee Vang moved House File 2,602 to extend a drought‑relief provision passed in 2021. Vang said the bill would extend the authorization to 2029 and allow purchases from the private market for containerized seedlings to ensure sufficient supply for replanting trees affected by past droughts. Bob Meyer, assistant commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, told the committee the state currently does not produce containerized stock and has been purchasing many seedlings from Canada; the provision would allow partnering with private nurseries to obtain needed material.
Felipe Yaskas of the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association testified in support, saying the change opens the market to private growers and helps replenish lands affected by drought.
Representative Ami Finke introduced two additional related measures. House File 2,620 would appropriate $10 million for the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) response, focusing on removal and handling of wood waste. Finke said the metro area faces an especially large volume of ash tree removals, and local markets cannot absorb all resulting wood waste. Members questioned whether previously appropriated funds have been fully expended; DNR and other staff said roughly half of prior appropriations had been awarded and that further awards were expected this summer, and promised more precise accounting to the committee.
House File 2,621 would appropriate $3 million to the Metropolitan Council for community tree planting in the Twin Cities metro area and includes species diversity provisions to avoid repeating past monoculture plantings. Finke said grant language prioritizes diverse, native species and noted the long‑term public‑health and cost benefits of urban canopy.
The committee heard a range of views. Representative Jacob said in his southeastern district private markets managed EAB without public money and questioned adding government funding. Representative Finke and DNR witnesses said private markets alone are not sufficient to manage the metropolitan volume of trees and waste. Representative Hansen noted prior publicly funded EAB responses dating to 2009. Co‑chairs and members raised concerns about budget pressure given the state's projected deficit.
All three bills were laid over for possible inclusion in future omnibus legislation; DNR staff said they would provide the committee with detailed expenditure accounting and continued coordination with private nurseries and metropolitan grant distribution.
