DNR Grassland Enhancement Ph X

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2019 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$4,007,000
Fund Source
Outdoor Heritage Fund
Recipient
DNR
Recipient Type
State Government
Status
Completed
Start Date
July 2018
End Date
January 1970
Activity Type
Restoration/Enhancement
Counties Affected
Aitkin
Becker
Benton
Big Stone
Blue Earth
Brown
Chippewa
Clay
Cottonwood
Crow Wing
Dakota
Dodge
Fillmore
Freeborn
Goodhue
Grant
Houston
Jackson
Kandiyohi
Lac qui Parle
Le Sueur
Lincoln
Lyon
Martin
McLeod
Meeker
Morrison
Mower
Murray
Nobles
Norman
Olmsted
Otter Tail
Pipestone
Polk
Pope
Redwood
Renville
Rice
Scott
Sibley
Stearns
Stevens
Swift
Todd
Traverse
Wabasha
Washington
Watonwan
Winona
Yellow Medicine
Aitkin
Becker
Benton
Big Stone
Blue Earth
Brown
Chippewa
Clay
Cottonwood
Crow Wing
Dakota
Dodge
Fillmore
Freeborn
Goodhue
Grant
Houston
Jackson
Kandiyohi
Lac qui Parle
Le Sueur
Lincoln
Lyon
Martin
McLeod
Meeker
Morrison
Mower
Murray
Nobles
Norman
Olmsted
Otter Tail
Pipestone
Polk
Pope
Redwood
Renville
Rice
Scott
Sibley
Stearns
Stevens
Swift
Todd
Traverse
Wabasha
Washington
Watonwan
Winona
Yellow Medicine
Project Overview

We restored and enhanced a total of 15,577 grassland acres with 239 projects on Wildlife Management Areas, Scientific and Natural Areas, and Native Prairie Bank easements.

About the Issue

We select projects using a number of criteria and reviews to make sure the DNR were spending these funds in the best and most productive ways. We can summarize our results in the following table.

Brome conversion 6
Interseeding 60
Grassland restoration 838
Prescribed Fire 10,550
Herbaceous Invasive Control 346
Goat Browsing - woody removal 71
Woody Removal 3,492
TOTAL 15,577

This appropriation involved the Southwest Roving Crews. These Crews allow the DNR to be very flexible. While they have a list of projects to work on, they can also respond fairly quickly if there's an enhancement opportunity shows up. For instance, a short dry period in a part of the state may allow them to conduct a late summer prescribed fire which was not in any of the original work plans. Roving Crews have begun experimenting with different burn seasons. The DNR and partners continue to host field days each summer to learn about management practices such as prescribed fire, conservation grazing, etc. We also regularly review the scientific literature to make sure we are applying the most up to date techniques in our management. We were also able to continue our experimenting with goat browsing in the SE to control buckthorn. SNA staff will monitor these sites over the coming years. This may provide a way to reduce chemical use and integrate some new and emerging agricultural practices, goats, into habitat management for the benefit of wildlife and the agricultural economy.

The DNR has traditionally focused on game species such as pheasants. However, there is more and more interest in pollinators and biodiversity. Fortunately, just about every study out there shows that management and restoration for pollinators and songbirds often creates the best habitat for game species. Diverse, healthy, productive habitat is good for a wide range of species. These projects can also increase the amount of carbon absorbed and stored by the plants and soils on these sites. All of these projects, directly or indirectly, fit within the state's Climate Action Framework and other climate related activities. As we continue to use these funds, costs for projects will probably increase. In the early years of these funds, we completed a number of simpler or easier projects, the low-hanging fruit. Now we are left with the larger and more challenging projects.

In our budget table, we prorated our budget for individual projects by the acres accomplished. Staff funding was combined into one value. Identifying funding for each position would be an accounting challenge so staff funds were combined by DNR Division.

Legal Citation / Subdivision
ML 2018, Ch. 208, Art. 1, Sec. 2, subd 2(m)
Appropriation Language

$4,007,000 the second year is to the commissioner of natural resources to accelerate restoration and enhancement of prairies, grasslands, and savannas in wildlife management areas, in scientific and natural areas, on lands in the native prairie bank, in bluff prairies on state forest land in southeastern Minnesota, and in waterfowl production areas and refuge lands of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. A list of proposed land restorations and enhancements must be provided as part of the required accomplishment plan.

2019 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$4,007,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$3,632,700
Administration costs
$198,500
Number of full time equivalents funded
13
Measurable Outcome(s)

Prairie habitats once covered one-third of the state but presently less than 2% remain. Native prairie, other grasslands that provides habitat for wildlife, and wetlands are key components of functional prairie landscapes that have the capacity to adapt to changing environmental conditions. While these appropriation only added 838 acres of grassland acres to the state through restoration, these funds enhanced a much larger area. Put another way, we restored and enhanced 24.3 square miles with these funds. That would be a strip of grassland habitat that would equate to a quarter mile wide stretching from Moorhead to Alexandria.

None of this work was targeted at a specific species of wildlife. We used that approach that diverse productive habitats benefit a wide variety of both game and non-game wildlife species as well as any threatened or endangered species. In our restorations, we use very diverse seed mixes. This is obviously beneficial for pollinators. However, all those insects also create a food base for a large number of wildlife species. The structural diversity all those plant species create in the habitat allow every species to find an ideal niche in the grass as well as accommodates different life history stages of wildlife.

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
A total of 15,577 acres were affected: 838 Restored, 0 in Fee Title, 0 in Easements, 14,739 in Enhance.
Project Manager
First Name
Greg
Last Name
Hoch
Organization Name
MN DNR
Street Address
500 Lafayette RD
City
St Paul
State
MN
Zip Code
55155
Phone
651-259-5230
Email
greg.hoch@state.mn.us
Administered By
Administered by
Location

500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155

Phone
651-296-6157
Email the Agency