It was about as diverse an alliance as one could find — well — in the environment.

The 2009 Wetlands Summit attracted hungers, environmentalists, government agencies and citizens.

Held last Saturday at Normandale Community College, Bloomington, the shared excitement of all at the conference over the expected impact the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Act’s constitutional amendment’s funding from the state sales tax was another reason for the conference’s popularity.

But wetlands, their loss and the prospects for restoration, bolted everyone’s thoughts together.

“Wetlands provide a diverse set of values to our natural environment and to human society,” said Bill Henke, summit co-chair and an Izaak Walton League of America member. “The 2009 Wetlands Summit just how critical wetlands are and why they deserve our protection,” Henke said at the start of the conference.

The summit attracted a “Who’s who?” of conservation in the state: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, IWLA’s Minnesota division, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Minnesota Waterfowl Association, Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, Minnesota Conservation Federation and Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. If there was a “star” to the day-long conference it was Mike Kilgore, chair of the Lessard Outdoor Heritage Council — the agency that will make recommendations to the Minnesota Legislature on how to spend the money collected by the Legacy amendment’s tax.

A legitimate co-star was Dave Zentner, Duluth, and a past-president of the national IWLA organization.

Zentner welcome the delegates and guests to the conference and reminded all, “We in Minnesota — all of us — received a great gift Nov. 4, 2008.”

The successful 54 percent margin that the Legacy amendment earned last November also came with a challenge.

“Now, it’s up to us,” he said. “We’ve got to get it right.”

When it comes to approving projects for Legacy amendment funds, Zentner warned, “We cannot get bogged down in parochialism.”

Also, he warned Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Minnesota legislators, “We should not balance the state budget on the backs of dedicated funding.”

The Lessard Outdoor Heritage Council’s chair, Kilgore, agreed.

The true test of the Legacy amendment’s success will come 25 years from today, when it is due to expire. If it doesn’t need to be extended, the confidence of Minnesotans to amend the state Constitution and the ability to spend the money on projects with lasting impact will be vindicated, according to Kilgroe.

Austin IWLA Chapter No. 10 delegates to the Wetlands Summit came away saying the conference accomplished its goals and was an educational experience for them.

“I learned there are an awful lot of agencies at work here with similar goals and different sources of funding,” Bob Goetz said. “I learned that despite the slowing of the wetlands losses over the decades, we continue to lose more wetlands today and we need to work just as hard as ever to stop further losses and restore those wetlands that can be restored.”

Goetz said he worries that the day will come, when finding sources of drinkable water will be very expensive. “We may not know we have a real problem until some of our aquifers dry out,” he said.

Without a strategy to prevent that from happening, the biggest questions are, Goetz said, “How are we going to replace that water when it’s lost? When we’ve been draining it off the land and it runs off as fast as it comes down, while we’re not replenishing those underground stores of water, how are we going to handle this?”

Goetz said he is hopeful the Legacy amendment’s monies will help address that problem.

Al Layman, former IWLA state president, said the value of talking with state legislators and the various agency representatives at the Wetlands Summit was, in a single word “unity of purpose.”

“They thought it was a great get-together of a variety of people, conservation groups and outdoors or sporting organizations, which remind them how diverse the state really is and how important all these groups and organizations are to come together and work as one,” Layman said.

IWLA Chapter No. 10 treasurer and membership chairman said another Wetlands Summit is possible.

“One of the organizers said that they should hold another Wetlands Summit just for that very reason: The value of getting the agencies and professional people together with citizens groups throughout the state.”

Like Goetz, Layman has high hopes for the Legacy amendment making an impact on conservation in Minnesota.

“Definitely,” Layman said, “It’s been a clear voice from the people of Minnesota, that we truly care for clean water, restoring wetlands, parks and outdoor recreation.”

“The real work is going to be figuring out a just and equitable way of implementing projects and spending the money,” Layman said.

The IWLA Chapter No. 10 member called for “friendly oversight” of the Legacy amendment’s monies from the state sales tax source.

“We’re going to need friendly oversight and not try to rule things with a big club,” he said.

Mark Owens said, “The biggest thing I appreciated the most from the Wetlands Summit was the comment that the biggest success of the Legacy amendment in 25 years is that we won’t need to extend it and that our psyche has changed to the point that it is natural to preserve what we have.”