2022 Camp Ripley Sentinel Landscape ACUB Phase X

Phase X will permanently protect approximately 1,421-acres and fund restoration and enhancement activities that will benefit fish, game, migratory bird, and forest habitat around the Ereaux and Little Nokasippi WMA's, Crow Wing County Forest, Lake Alexander Woods SNA, Pillsbury State Forest and the Camp Ripley State Game Refuge; all within the 5-mile radius of Camp Ripley, a priority focus area within Sentinel Landscape program area. This phase will secure approximately 29 permanent conservation Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) easements, utilizing partnerships with Camp Ripley, a State Game Refuge, the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) and the Morrison Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). Easement acquisition and habitat enhancement and restoration will occur in portions of Morrison, Crow Wing, and Cass County that lie within this 5-mile radius.

Easement acquisition in this area will protect and buffer river, lake, and forest habitat corridors that are critical to the general public for fishing, hunting, and recreational opportunities. These habitat corridors and complexes are critical protection priorities for the State of Minnesota, MN National Guard (MNNG) and National Guard Bureau (NGB) and its mission to sustain military training of soldiers, our local economy, the National Mississippi River Flyway, and Mississippi Headwaters Board mission.

Parcels are prioritized and targeted for high quality existing habitat, to protect corridors and large habitat complexes and to ensure reduced future fragmentation. Evaluation criteria include ecological and habitat factors for resident and migratory wildlife species. The target area has been limited to ensure a concentration of easement acquisitions that provide landscape scale benefits and will allow for protection of large forested parcels that are an imminent threat of conversion.

The forested region of these three counties is where agriculture transitions to existing forested lands. Thousands of acres within and around this work area are being converted from forest to annual cropping, primarily for potato/corn production. Forests not only provide critical wildlife habitat for game and non-game species, but forests lessen the impact of water quality contamination from land use practices. This region of the state, most specifically Morrison County, is the fastest growing county in the state for the loss of grazing land to annual cropping. The loss of forests would exacerbate problems associated with conversion. Drinking water standards in the area are also in jeopardy with the increase in irrigation and large scale livestock operations, so protecting the forested lands has become a local and agency priority.

In 2016, Camp Ripley was designated as a federal Sentinel Landscape one of seven in the nation. This designation by both State (2015) and Federal entities coordinates strategies to protect this landscape. Many agencies have identified their scope of priorities within the CRSL 10-mile boundary. The CRSL Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) program has over 350 interested landowners on a waiting list for participation. To date OHF support of almost $15M has leveraged over $42.5M in federal dollars to protect over 30,0000 acres.