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City of Duluth to receive $1,493,434 Legacy Fund grant to enhance Waabizheshikana: The Marten Trail

[Duluth, MN] People who enjoy outdoor recreation in the Duluth area will soon have their experiences enhanced once recommendations are approved to fund $1,493,434 of improvements on Waabizheshikana: The Marten Trail (formerly known as the Western Waterfront Trail).

The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) recently completed its application review process and chose Waabizheshikana: The Marten Trail and 13 other parks and trails around the state for $11.4 million in funding for fiscal year 2024. The GMRPTC will now recommend that the Minnesota Legislature approve funding through the Parks and Trails Legacy Fund, one of four funds created by the 2008 Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. The Legislature has annually approved GMRPTC recommendations, since Legacy Funds are already dedicated and may only be spent to support parks and trails of regional or statewide significance.

“We are elated to have been selected for this grant from the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission, which will allow us to enhance the existing 3.3-mile trail and extend it an additional two miles,” said Cliff Knettel, Senior Parks Planner for the City of Duluth. “Area residents and visitors already enjoy the relaxation and beauty they find along the St. Louis River Estuary, and this needed funding will make their experience even better.”

“Every grant awardee is very deserving, and we commend them for how thoroughly they described their needs in their grant applications,” said GMRPTC Executive Director Renee Mattson. “It’s the dedicated people at the local level who make Greater Minnesota’s regional parks and trails really shine, and we’re pleased to assist them with their efforts.”

“Legacy Funding is a far-reaching gift that Minnesotans had the foresight to create to enhance their enjoyment of the outdoors,” said Mattson. “Without Legacy dollars, many of these projects simply would not happen or would take many years before coming to fruition.”

The GMRPTC provides recommendations to the Minnesota Legislature for grants to parks and trails of regional significance in the 80 counties outside the seven-county metropolitan area. Since its creation in 2014, the GMRPTC has awarded more than $72 million in grants to 109 projects in the state’s 74 designated parks and trails. Combined with $25.6 million in community matches to date, grants are used to fund infrastructure improvements, land acquisitions, new facilities, trail rehabilitation and more.

Additional information may be found at www.gmrptcommission.org.

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