Accelerate the Waterfowl Production Area Program in Minnesota, Phase II
Pheasants Forever (PF) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will cooperate to permanently restore and protect approximately 700 acres as Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) in western and southern Minnesota. All lands acquired through this grant proposal will be owned and managed by the Service as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Tremendous economic, agricultural, recreational, and developmental pressures including gravel mining, widely fluctuating commodity prices, withdrawal of CRP contracts, wind energy, ethanol and bio-mass production are squeezing Minnesota's habitat resources and the plants and animals that depend on them. WPAs are acquired with funds derived from the sale of Federal Duck Stamps and managed for wildlife and conservation benefits as part of the National Wildlife System. Land acquisition and restoration have not kept pace with habitat needs however.
Funds will be utilized to permanently restore and protect approximately 500 acres of grasslands and 200 acres of wetland as Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) in western and southern Minnesota. The loss of wetland and grassland habitats in Minnesota is well documented. One of the primary ways to reverse this downward trend is to permanently acquire, then restore wetland and grassland habitats on those properties. The Service and our partners have been utilizing this strategy for over 50-years with the Small Wetlands Acquisition Program (SWAP). Utilizing the landscape level planning tools produced by our HAPET office in Fergus Fall, MN, the Service and our partners have strategically identified properties for acquisition. These strategies are well tested and are supported by the greater conservation community here in Minnesota.
The Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council (LSOHC) project will add to the Service's acquisition of Minnesota's valuable wetland and grassland habitats. Upon notification of project approval, Pheasants Forever & the Service will prioritize lands to be acquired. PF will complete landowner contacts, appraisals and purchase agreements. At closing PF will take ownership to allow for the required reversionary clause. The the lands will be donated to the Service as WPAs and all management actions including the prompt restoration of upland habitats and wetlands will be funded by the Service and protected in perpetuity. The Service will also be responsible for payment of PILT to the Counties.
Pheasants Forever in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, acquired 11 parcels of land from willing sellers totaling 1,397.31 acres within priority wildlife habitat complexes throughout the prairie and forest prairie regions of the state. Partners were highly successful at securing parcels closing 11 out of 14 projects. All of the acquired parcels are additions onto existing permanently protected wildlife habitat complexes creating an even larger benefit to waterfowl and the myriad of wildlife species that depend on these wetland / grassland habitats. All parcels have been donated to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are now protected and managed in perpetuity as Waterfowl Productions Areas (WPA) under the National Wildlife Refuge System. Each parcel is open for public recreation, including hunting, as defined by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act. Further, we are happy to report that over $3.2 million in match was leveraged through this effort. This match came from a variety of federal sources as well as donations of land value. This exceeds our original match goal by over 10%.
Each acquired parcel has also been restored and/or enhanced to as a high quality as practicable to ensure the maximum amount of benefits to migratory birds and other wildlife species. Wetlands restorations of various types, including seasonal wetlands, were restored by breaking drain tile lines, filling drainage ditches, constructing earthen dams, and installing water control structures. Invasive tree removal work was completed on many of these newly acquired lands and all agricultural fields restored to grasslands were restored using a broadcast or drill seeded method with a diverse mix of native grasses and forb species.These restored and permanently protected acres will provide critical habitat for breeding/migrating waterfowl and reproductive and winter habitat for grassland game and non game species.
The work completed in this project has accelerated investment into permanently protected wildlife habitat complexes through the highly successful USFWS Waterfowl Production Area program. The outcome of this project protects, maintains, and increases waterfowl and other wildlife populations within these areas. Furthermore, this work helps to improve water quality, reduces soil erosion, and provides public areas for Minnesotans to recreate in the outdoors, something so fundamental to ensure Minnesota’s future outdoor heritage.
$3,505,000 in fiscal year 2011 is to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with Pheasants Forever to acquire and restore wetland and related upland habitats, in cooperation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Ducks Unlimited, Inc., to be managed as waterfowl production areas. A list of proposed acquisitions and a list of proposed projects, describing the types and locations of restorations, must be provided as part of the required accomplishment plan. All restorations must comply with subdivision, paragraph (b).
1398 acres