Red River Riparian Restoration in Moorhead, MN

In 2018, Audubon Dakota will restore and enhance 272 acres of riparian habitat along the Red River in Moorhead, MN through the Urban Woods and Prairies Initiative. The Urban Woods and Prairies (UWP) Initiative was launched in 2014 by Audubon Dakota and partners. Though located in Fargo, ND, Audubon Dakota has become the project manager for the Moorhead, MN UWP nature parks to ensure project consistency. Audubon Minnesota, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, has approved this dynamic and works cooperatively with Audubon Dakota on the UWP Initiative. Both offices understand that birds and wildlife do not recognize state lines ? and as we implement conservation projects such as the UWP Initiative ? neither should we in order to find conservation success.

The project aim is to create habitat for birds and wildlife within Fargo-Moorhead, while also providing FM community members and visitors the opportunity to reconnect with nature. With 24 sites and over 650 acres enrolled, the UWP Initiative restores grasslands, wetlands, and woodlands along the Red River to provide environmental benefits for residents and urban wildlife. The goals of the UWP Initiative include habitat enhancement, water conservation, providing natural recreational spaces, and promoting outdoor education to more than 3000 residents and visitors annually through Audubon-led outreach programming. By restoring the native prairie, wetlands, and enhancing riparian woodland areas, this Initiative strives to increase water quality, flood resiliency, bank stabilization, and carbon sequestration which provide long term benefits to the entire community. These improvements create healthy habitats for wildlife and will reduce management burdens of land owning partners.