Dennis Anderson on Conservation Amendment

Why is Dennis Anderson the best writer at the Star Tribune? Because he writes columns like this:

Unchanged this week in Minnesota is the degraded condition of the state's lakes, rivers, wetlands, prairies and forests.

What's new after the Legislature's failure to pass a conservation constitutional amendment proposal are discussions in some quarters to conduct a scorched-earth media and Internet campaign between now and November intended to unseat every legislator whose fingerprints were on the bills in the House and Senate.

Others talk of a modern-day "Boston Tea Party" in which Minnesota's approximately 750,000 hunters and 1 million anglers would be urged not to spend money for gear, gas, bait or lodging -- or movies, the theater or other arts -- in any of the legislative districts of the 10 conference committee members who failed to reach a compromise between competing House and Senate bills.

I believe our time can be better spent.

In fact, after talking to Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar, and House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon -- as well as bill authors Rep. Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar, and Sen. Dallas Sams, DFL-Staples -- I think differences between the two bills can be resolved in coming days.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has said he will call a special legislative session provided the House and Senate can agree ahead of time to a constitutional amendment bill, and provided Johnson and Sviggum promise no other legislation will be considered.

Today and Sunday in Star Tribune Outdoors we'll look at issues separating Republicans and the DFL on the proposed amendment. You will hear from Sviggum, Johnson, Sams and Hackbarth. Then, by e-mail, you can offer suggestions on how an agreement might be reached.

There are no bad guys in this story. People disagree with one another. And some differ in their interpretation of facts. But everyone involved -- certainly Johnson, Sviggum, Sams and Hackbarth -- believe, generally, Minnesota has failed historically to care for its resources and that ramifications of that failure compound daily as the evermore pervasive effects of urbanization, sprawl, modern farming and the commodification of the state's northern forests are realized.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the declining quality of Minnesota's water and forests. In the wake of the failure of the legislature to agree on a constitutional amendment it is tempting to start throwing spears; agreement was near and the stakes are high. But Anderson uses his column to urge patience and brings the two sides together to talk. You can read the rest of his column to see what the unresolved issues are. And don't miss his Sunday column when he talks to the legislative leaders.