Lawmakers hear competing views as Legacy Committee reviews Roseau Lake rehabilitation funding

Chair McDonald convened the House Legacy Committee for an informational hearing on the Roseau Lake Rehabilitation Project, which the Lessard‑Sams Outdoor Heritage Council has recommended for inclusion in the council’s 2026 Outdoor Heritage Fund package.

Christina Smitten, director of the Lessard‑Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, told members the council recommended an additional $3,553,000 for fiscal 2027 to fund part of the multi‑phase Roseau Lake project and that the council voted to include the project in this year’s Outdoor Heritage Fund bill. She said prior legislative support came in 2016 and 2024 and that the total project cost is approximately $25,500,000, with about $18,600,000 already expended or committed.

Tracy Halstensgard, administrator of the Roseau River Watershed District, described a multi‑year, multi‑agency planning process dating to 2014 that used the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concurrence‑point permitting approach and an Environmental Assessment Worksheet; she said an environmental impact statement was not required. Halstensgard said the project’s primary purposes are to improve fish and wildlife habitat in the Roseau Lake basin and to use the basin’s storage capacity to reduce peak flows on the Roseau River by roughly 10% or more under modeled conditions. She said construction began in 2023 and the work is about 75% complete.

Pat Rivers, deputy director of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Fish and Wildlife, said the DNR is a long‑standing project partner and stressed there has been and will be no use of eminent domain in the work. He described the project as restoring the historic lake basin and improving recreational opportunities and local economic contributions tied to hunting and wildlife viewing.

Regional partners also spoke in support. Robert Sipp, executive director of the Red River Watershed Management Board (RedBoard), said the red board has committed $4.7 million through a legally binding funding agreement and framed the project as contributing to the Red River Basin’s Long‑Term Flood Solutions (LTFS), estimating the work would store more than 20,000 acre‑feet of water and reduce annual sediment and nutrient loads.

Engineers who reviewed permitting and design told the committee the project met technical criteria required by state and federal reviewers. Chad Ingalls, a licensed civil engineer who represented the Red River Watershed Management Board’s technical advisory committee, said the project passed multiple technical reviews and permitting steps and argued the public benefits justify completion.

Several local officials and landowners urged continued funding to avoid wasting prior investments and to secure flood mitigation. Dan Fabian, mayor of Roseau, recalled the city’s 2002 flood and said a delay could increase future flood risk. Local landowners described repeated flooding on family farms and asked the committee to preserve the ability to finish the project.

The committee heard both support and sharp concern from residents and experts. Several testifiers who identified as landowners described what they called poor notice, modeling errors, and private‑land impacts; representatives of the Minnesota Landowners Coalition and independent engineers said the project would inundate privately held farmland in ways that had not been accounted for or fairly compensated.

Committee members asked presenters to supply documentation and noted that the council’s accomplishment plans — final, legally binding documents that accompany an appropriation — are reviewed by the Lessard‑Sams Council before funds are released. Chair McDonald closed by saying members take property‑rights concerns seriously and will consider the litigation and local testimony as they weigh action over the coming weeks. The meeting adjourned with the committee noting it has roughly six weeks before a funding decision is required.