DNR Grassland Enhancement Phase 15

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2024 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$3,003,000
Fund Source
Outdoor Heritage Fund
Recipient
DNR
Recipient Type
State Government
Status
In Progress
Start Date
July 2023
End Date
January 1970
Activity Type
Restoration/Enhancement
Counties Affected
Anoka
Becker
Big Stone
Brown
Carlton
Chippewa
Clay
Cottonwood
Dakota
Dodge
Douglas
Faribault
Fillmore
Goodhue
Grant
Houston
Jackson
Kittson
Lac qui Parle
Le Sueur
Lincoln
Lyon
Mahnomen
Marshall
Martin
Meeker
Morrison
Mower
Murray
Nicollet
Norman
Olmsted
Otter Tail
Polk
Pope
Red Lake
Redwood
Renville
Roseau
Sherburne
Stearns
Stevens
Swift
Traverse
Wabasha
Washington
Wilkin
Winona
Yellow Medicine
Anoka
Becker
Big Stone
Brown
Carlton
Chippewa
Clay
Cottonwood
Dakota
Dodge
Douglas
Faribault
Fillmore
Goodhue
Grant
Houston
Jackson
Kittson
Lac qui Parle
Le Sueur
Lincoln
Lyon
Mahnomen
Marshall
Martin
Meeker
Morrison
Mower
Murray
Nicollet
Norman
Olmsted
Otter Tail
Polk
Pope
Red Lake
Redwood
Renville
Roseau
Sherburne
Stearns
Stevens
Swift
Traverse
Wabasha
Washington
Wilkin
Winona
Yellow Medicine
Project Overview

Grasslands continue to be the most threatened habitat in the state. This programmatic request will build on the DNR's history of enhancing and restoring grasslands, embedded wetlands, and oak savannas. The Prairie Plan, Pheasant Plan, and Wildlife Action Plan will guide our efforts to ensure we are operating in a strategic and targeted manner. This proposal will enhance and restore grasslands on 5,700 acres parcels that are permanently protected and most open to public hunting using prescribed fire, tree removal, high-diversity seedings, and similar practices.

About the Issue

In many farmland counties less than five percent of the area is in public wildlife lands, often much less. We continue to lose about 200 acres of native prairie per year. While Minnesota does have acres enrolled in CRP as well as state programs such as RIM and CREP, there is still very little grassland left in many counties of the state. As such, we need to make sure the remaining grasslands, especially those open to public recreation are as diverse and productive as possible. These lands provide wildlife habitat as well as pollinator habitat and ecosystem services such as floodwater capture and groundwater recharge.

Wildlife and pollinator populations are a fraction of what they were even a decade ago. Water quality, especially nitrate contamination, is a human health and wildlife issue. Restoring and enhancing grasslands are one of the most effective ways to improve all of these issues. Grasslands and embedded wetlands are also very good at sequestering and storing carbon, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. Grassland and wetland restoration and enhancement, carefully guided by planning, is one of the best ways to address many of these issues.

This programmatic request seeks funding to enhance grassland habitat on permanently protected grasslands and prairies, most of which are open to public hunting. Without periodic management to simulate historical disturbance patterns, grassland lose diversity and productivity. Invasive species may increase and woody vegetation will encroach into the grasslands, changing their very character and the species that inhabit the area. The activities listed in this proposal will use BMPs for grassland enhancement and diverse local ecotype seed mixes for restoration.

The SNA program will be funding the same Seasonal and Technician positions they have requested in the past.

The Prairie Restoration Specialist builds on a program we started with the last appropriation. The DNR and partners have been restoring grasslands with OHF support for over a decade. This provides a unique opportunity to evaluate and assess these projects. Each restoration should be seen as an opportunity to learn and improve the next seeding using adaptive management or continuous improvement models. These staff will focus specifically on OHF funded grassland restorations and developed fine-scale, long-term assessments of these projects. They will communicate these results and refinements to BMPs to the conservation community and be a conduit for information between the science community and restoration practitioners. Using this information, these staff will work with practitioners and vendors to continue to refine seed mixes, planting practices, and post-restoration management.

Legal Citation / Subdivision
ML 2023, Ch. 40, Art. 1, Sec. 2, subd. 2(h)
Appropriation Language

$3,003,000 the first year is to the commissioner of natural resources to accelerate the restoration and enhancement of prairies, grasslands, and savannas in wildlife management areas, in scientific and natural areas, in aquatic management 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.

2024 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$3,003,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$2,905,600
Administration costs
$97,400
Number of full time equivalents funded
1.67
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Healthy populations of endangered, threatened, and special concern species as well as more common species - Monitoring will take place with the base level monitoring conducted by DNR staff and staff from other agencies/NGOs. This includes surveys such as pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse, and woodcock, which are all dependent on open areas.
Protected, restored, and enhanced nesting and migratory habitat for waterfowl, upland birds, and species of greatest conservation need - Migratory game and non-game birds will be some of the primary beneficiaries of this work. We hope to continue to strengthen partnerships with the University of Minnesota to incorporate graduate students into research and monitoring work.
Core areas protected with highly biologically diverse wetlands and plant communities, including native prairie, Big Woods, and oak savanna - Monitoring will take place with the base level monitoring conducted by DNR staff and staff from other agencies/NGOs.
Healthier populations of endangered, threatened, and special concern species as well as more common species - Monitoring will primarily be done through studies conducted by the DNR's Ecological and Water Resources Division of key indicator species such as timber rattlesnakes.
Restored and enhanced upland habitats - The multi-agency/NGO Grassland Monitoring Team (GMT) has developed standardized protocols for sampling grassland vegetation and a number of the sites on this request will be sampled over the 5 year period

Project Manager
First Name
Greg
Last Name
Hoch
Organization Name
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