Working Lands for Habitat (Grazing)

Loss of grasslands, particularly grass grazed by large ungulates is of significant concern to the natural resource management community. Although CRP provides significant tall grassland habitat (yet CRP has declined dramatically in MN since the 2000's) it is generally not hayed or grazed sufficiently to benefit shorter-grass species like bobolink, meadowlark, and longspurs. These species are all in decline. Likewise overgrazed pasture can negatively affect both wildlife and water quality. Properly managed grazing is essential to maintaining grassland health and diversity. The intent of this program is to protect, enhance and restore properly managed grasslands that provide not only improved grassland habitat and water quality but continuing long-term economic benefit for landowners. RIM easements that allow long-term grazing coupled with approved grazing plans that take wildlife and water quality into consideration will be utilized to protect approximately 716 acres. In addition to improving grassland quality there will be a focus on getting cattle out of sensitive water bodies by fencing and providing alternate water sources. This will reduce erosion, improve water quality and improve downstream fish habitat in rivers and lakes. Prioritization criteria are developed to give the highest return on conservation investment, water quality benefits, large block connectivity of grassland complexes and implementation of Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan priorities. A local technical advisory committee made up of BWSR, SWCD, agency and NGO partners will score, rank and identify priority parcels. This partnership will solicit applications from willing landowners and work collaboratively to share multiple-agency conservation program availability in what is intended to be a sustained long-term protection program. This program will encourage a working lands approach while prioritizing grassland multiple benefit protection values. Significant detail regarding the resource being protected will be identified in the management plans to include but not limited to a grazing management plan that protects the form and function of grassland ecological values, ground water and surface water hydrology management, adaptations for changing environmental conditions, promotion of soil health, and allowance for other compatible conservation practices over time. Our intent is to make this a statewide program, however if insufficient funding is secured we may scale back to targeted areas of the state. Although these areas have not been chosen yet we expect significant demand from northwest, central and southeast portions of the state Minnesota. In addition several SWCDs have expressed interest in developing grazing plan writing and implementation capacity which can be facilitated via this program. In 2020 BWSR received $1M in Capitol Investment (Bonding) funds to implement a working lands program in three watersheds in north central Minnesota. This program is an outgrowth of that program and much of the work necessary to design and implement these programs has already been completed. Although limited both geographically and financially, there seems to be significant interest by producers that are committed to environmentally sensitive grazing management so they can keep their family farms.