Accelerating the Wildlife Management Area Program - Phase VII
This proposal accelerates the protection of 900 acres of prairie grassland, wetland, and other wildlife habitat as State Wildlife Management Areas open to public hunting.
Conversion of grassland and wetlands for other uses have not only contributed to many native species population
declines, but also impacted water quality, groundwater recharge cycles, and natural flood cycles. Permanent
acquisition and restoration of grasslands and wetlands is one of the major tools we have for reversing this trend.
This seventh phase of the WMA acceleration program acquired and restored a total of 2,100.19 acres of grasslands
and wetland habitat as permanently protected WMA's. Due to our ability to partner with other conservation
groups and agencies such as the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, we are able to bring leverage to the
program and far exceed the goals of this phase.
Pheasants Forever and MN DNR staff collaborated to generate a list of parcels with landowners who had the desire
to sell. The parcel’s ecological impact was evaluated using landscape level planning tools such USFWS Habitat and
Population Evaluation Team (HAPET), The MN Prairie Conservation Plan and The Pheasant Action Plan among
others. By utilizing these tools, we were able to focus efforts in areas where acquisitions and restorations will make
the greatest impact on the landscape and thus these additional acres of WMA are very beneficial to wildlife and
public recreation.
Once acquired, wetlands on each parcel were restored by installing surface ditch “plugs” and or breaking
subsurface tile. Some wetlands may also have had sediment removed to create proper substrates for wetland
function and vegetative growth. Grasslands were restored by planting a high-diversity native seed mix of grasses
and forbs that are regionally appropriate to the area. As with all restoration work, there are challenges that come
from weather and working with private contractors, but we did not face any major issues.
$7,452,000 in the first year is to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with Pheasants Forever to acquire land in fee for wildlife management area purposes under Minnesota Statutes, section 86A.05, subdivision 8. 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 proposed land acquisitions must be provided as part of the required accomplishment plan.
749 Wetland acres, 1,318 Prairie acres, and 40 Forest acres (for a total of 2,107 acres) Protected in Fee with State PILT Liability,
Federal, PF, Private