Goose Prairie
The Goose Prairie Marsh Enhancement project is located approximately 2 miles northeast of Hitterdal, MN in Goose Prairie Township, Clay County. The marsh is part of the Goose Prairie Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Clay County Ditch 18 (CD 18) was constructed through this area in about 1915. As a result, prior the project, water levels in Goose Prairie Marsh could not be managed to improve wildlife habitat using the lake's natural outlet. Since the early 1990's the lake had been at historically high levels due to above average precipitation and constricted flow through the historic outlet channel due to a buildup of sediment and cattails. These high-water levels resulted in substantially degraded habitat conditions in the marsh. The Goose Prairie Marsh Enhancement project consisted of three primary components: installation of a water control structure, realignment of the outlet channel from the marsh to the water control structure, and land acquisition adjacent to the existing WMA. Each are described in more detail in the following sections. 1) Water control structure - The water control structure was constructed of reinforced concrete with six, 5-foot stoplog bays to allow water level manipulation between from 1203.6 and 1208.5 feet (NAVD 88). The water control structure is located near the center of Section 22, T141, R44W adjacent to 115th Avenue North. A reinforced concrete outlet pipe was installed to convey water leaving the structure under the road. 2) Realignment of the existing outlet channel - The project constructed a new channel between the Goose Prairie Marsh and the water control structure. The new channel effectively conveys water from the marsh to the new outlet and will avoids future wetland impacts and habitat loss associated with cleaning out the previous channel (CD18).
$600,000 in the first year is to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the Wild Rice Watershed District, in cooperation with the Department of Natural Resources, to enhance aquatic and upland habitat within and adjacent to the Goose prairie Marsh Wildlife Management Area in Clay County. A list of proposed land enhancements must be provided as part of the required accomplishment plan.
The Goose Prairie Marsh is almost entirely contained within Goose Prairie WMA. The WMA is 490 acres and consists of approximately 318 acres of wetlands and 172 acres of upland grassland and forest. Native northern dry prairie has been identified on 23.5 acres of the WMA by MN DNR Division of Ecological and Water Resources.
In addition, the Goose Prairie WMA is part of a large habitat complex in the general area. Within five miles of the Goose Prairie WMA, there are approximately 1,420 acres of WMA, 5,520 acres of WPA, and 120 acres of Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) easements. This project will protect approximately an additional 270 acres of wetland and upland habitats adjacent to the WMA.
Goose Prairie WMA is rated a moderate biodiversity significance rating by the Minnesota Biological Survey meaning that the site contains occurrences of rare species and/or moderately disturbed native plant communities, and/or landscapes that have a strong potential for recovery.
Wild Rice Watershed District