St. Croix Watershed Habitat Protection and Restoration Phase 5
Wild Rivers Conservancy of the St. Croix & Namekagon, Minnesota Land Trust, and The Trust for Public Land will work in partnership to permanently protect approximately 813 acres of critical wildlife habitat on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River watershed through fee-title acquisition and conservation easements. The goals of the program are to protect high quality wildlife habitat, improve conservation connectivity, and provide public access for outdoor recreation opportunities.
The St. Croix River watershed spans 7,760 square miles between Minnesota and Wisconsin with the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway flowing through its heart. The St. Croix River was the first designated wild and scenic riverway in 1968. The landscape of the watershed contains large swaths of unique ecosystems, wildlife habitat and is home to rare and endangered species. The Riverway is a regional attraction for upwards of 1 million visitors annually due to its many recreation opportunities, such as high-quality fishing, hunting, birding, hiking, and boating. Although the status of the St. Croix as a Wild and Scenic River comes with federal protections, it applies only to a thin ribbon of land adjacent to the Riverway. Beyond the Riverway boundary, more than 75% of the watershed's forest habitat remains unprotected and the threat of development, fragmentation and conversion to agriculture is substantial.
The partnership, consisting of the Wild Rivers Conservancy (Conservancy), the Minnesota Land Trust (MLT), and The Trust for Public Land (TPL), will work to increase the amount of land permanently protected on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River watershed. The overall goals of the partnership are to protect large intact forest patches, sustain riparian forests, and restore and protect lands that are important to the 128 listed Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) that are known within the landscape.
The program has shown how ready landowners are for permanent protection options in the watershed, in portions of which had few, if any, options prior to its establishment. Strategic landowner outreach has led to a line-up of people wanting to protect their land for generations to come. The partnership is requesting ML24 funding for Phase 5 of the program to continue the important work of permanently protecting some of Minnesota's highest quality habitat.
To date, the St. Croix Watershed Habitat Protection and Restoration program partnership has led to 1,318 acres of active easements, 6.5 miles of protected shoreline, and 970 acres of land acquired in fee.
Funding support for Phase 5 (ML24) of the St. Croix Watershed Habitat Protection and Restoration program will go towards:
TPL will protect approximately 350 acres through fee-title acquisition. TPL has had success in the upper portion of the watershed with previous funds, including a 729 acre and 241 addition to the Chengwatana State Forest, and with ML23 funds allocated to a newly proposed WMA, Keystone Woods resulting in 670 acres protected through this program. TPL will convey lands to the DNR, except when LGU ownership is appropriate, for permanent ownership, management, and stewardship.
MLT will acquire approximately 463 acres of conservation easements and develop habitat management plans for eased acres. Projects within targeted priority areas will be identified through a competitive RFP process and subsequently ranked based on ecological value and cost, prioritizing the best projects and securing them at the lowest cost to the state. MLT will negotiate and close all conservation easements.
The Conservancy will provide overall program administration, and landowner outreach and engagement.
$4,711,000 the second year is to the commissioner of natural resources for agreements to acquire land in fee and acquire permanent conservation easements and to restore and enhance natural habitat systems in the St. Croix River watershed as follows: $1,905,000 to Trust for Public Land; $110,000 to Wild Rivers Conservancy; and $2,696,000 to Minnesota Land Trust. Up to $224,000 to Minnesota Land Trust is to establish a monitoring and enforcement fund as approved in the accomplishment plan and subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 97A.056, subdivision 17.
Forestlands are protected from development and fragmentation - This project will be measured by the acres of high quality forestlands that are permanently protected from development and fragmentation. Protected land will also be evaluated by its proximity to existing public lands as well as connectivity to other protected forestlands.
A network of natural land and riparian habitats will connect corridors for wildlife and species in greatest conservation need - This project will be measured by the acres of wildlife corridors protected and evaluated based on the observed use by wildlife populations and evidence of SGCN
Landowners and Private