Accelerated Native Prairie Bank Protection

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2017 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$2,541,000
Fund Source
Outdoor Heritage Fund
Recipient
DNR
Recipient Type
State Government
Status
Completed
End Date
April 2022
Activity Type
Land Acquisition
Counties Affected
Becker
Lyon
Martin
Polk
Swift
Becker
Lyon
Martin
Polk
Swift
Project Overview

The Native Prairie Bank Program will work with willing landowners to enroll 420 acres of native prairie in perpetual conservation easements. Enrollment will focus on Minnesota Prairie Plan identified landscapes and target high quality prairies that provide valuable wildlife habitat.

Project Details

The loss of native prairie and associated grassland habitat is arguably the greatest conservation challenge facing
western and southern Minnesota. This appropriation aimed to protect 420 acres of native prairie habitat by
accelerating the enrollment of Native Prairie Bank easements. Not only were the prairie protection outcomes met
but they were exceeded by 99 acres.
Acceleration, such as this, is necessary to address the loss of native prairie and associated grasslands. Today, only
about 1.3% of Minnesota’s original 18 million acres of prairie remains. The few remaining acres of native prairie
once were thought of as unsuitable for crop production, however with advancements in technology and
equipment, in addition to growing competition for tillable acres, this is no longer the case. Unfortunately,
grassland-to-cropland conversion is not the only impact to native prairie, significant degradation and loss is also
occurring due to property development, aggregate extraction, and lack of prairie-oriented management. If the
current trajectory of grassland and prairie loss continues it will be devastating to grassland dependent wildlife
populations.
Recognizing that protecting grassland and wetland habitat is one of the most critical conservation challenges facing
Minnesota, over a dozen leading conservation organizations have developed a road map for moving forward – the
Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan. This plan calls for several outcomes, one being the protection of all remaining
native prairie, largely through conservation easements. One of the primary easement tools for native prairie
protection in Minnesota is the DNR administered Native Prairie Bank easement. Native Prairie Bank was
established by the 1987 legislature to protect private native prairie lands by authorizing the state to acquire
conservation easements from willing landowners. Native Prairie Bank targets the protection of native prairie tracts
but can also include adjoining lands as buffers and additional habitat.
Originally, this appropriation aimed to protect 420 acres of native prairie through Native Prairie Bank easements.
Eligible tracts were to be located within priority landscapes identified in the Minnesota Prairie Plan and prioritized
based on several evaluation factors including:
1) Size and quality of habitat, focusing on diverse native prairie communities that have been identified by the
Minnesota Biological Survey
2) The occurrence of rare species, or suitability habitat for rare species
3) Lands that are part of a larger habitat complex
Ultimately, 7 native prairie parcels for a total of 519 acres (99 acres more than initial 420-acre goal) were
perpetually protected through this appropriation via Native Prairie Bank Easements. These now protected native
prairies are unique natural resources that consist of thousands of different organisms, plants, animals, bacteria,
and soil fungi. Their complex interactions provide the food, water and shelter required by many of Minnesota’s
rare, threatened, and endangered species. These prairies house a wide variety of pollinator species, some of which
often cannot survive in other habitats, including prairie restorations.

Legal Citation / Subdivision
ML 2016, Ch. 172, Art. 1, Sec. 2, Subd. 2(f)
Appropriation Language

$2,541,000 the second year is to the commissioner of natural resources to implement the Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan through the acquisition of permanent conservation easements to protect and restore native prairie. Of this amount, up to $120,000 is for establishing monitoring and enforcement funds as approved in the accomplishment plan and subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 97A.056, subdivision 17. Subject to evaluation criteria in Minnesota Rules, part 6136.0900, priority must be given to acquisition of lands that are eligible for the native prairie bank under Minnesota Statutes, section 84.96, or lands adjacent to protected native prairie. A list of permanent conservation easements must be provided as part of the final report.

2017 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$2,541,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$1,028,700
Administration costs
$18,000
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.18
Measurable Outcome(s)

519 Prairie acres were Enhanced.

Project Manager
First Name
Judy
Last Name
Schulte
Organization Name
MN DNR
Street Address
1241 E Bridge Street
City
Redwood Falls
State
MN
Zip Code
56283
Phone
(507) 637-6016
Email
judy.schulte@state.mn.us
Administered By
Administered by
Location

500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155

Phone
651-296-6157
Email the Agency