Hardwood Hills Habitat Conservation Program
The Hardwood Hills Habitat Conservation Program is focused on the protection of remaining high-quality forest systems and their associated biota within the Hardwood Hills ecological section of west-central Minnesota. Over 60 percent of forests in the Hardwood Hills have been lost to conversion over the past century, with lakeshore development and growth along the I-94 corridor near St. Cloud posing significant threats. In this first phase of the program, Minnesota Land Trust and Saint John's University will protect via permanent conservation easement 450 acres of priority forest and wetland habitats within the Avon Hills portion of the program area.
The Hardwood Hills subsection is an ecologically rich landscape in west-central Minnesota, where forests meet prairies. It encompasses approximately 3.5 million acres and consists of steep slopes and high rolling hills that were formed during the last ice age when massive glaciers sculpted the region. Scattered between these rolling hills are abundant kettle lakes and wetlands; many of these are small, but the region also contains more than 400 lakes larger than 160 acres.
This transition zone includes a diversity of forest, prairie, and savanna habitats, numerous lakes and wetlands, and abundant wildlife, including 85 Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). Our overarching program goal is to afford protection to the remaining high-quality ecological systems and their associated species in the Hardwood Hills, as represented in the State's Wildlife Action Network.
The Hardwood Hills is under great development pressure, especially in the southern portions of the subsection towards St. Cloud. In this first phase of the Hardwood Hills Habitat Conservation program, we are prioritizing the southern portion of the Hardwood Hills, known as the Avon Hills, where threat is greatest. The Avon Hills area is a 65,000 acre natural landscape located just 15 miles northwest of St. Cloud. This hilly glacial moraine landscape rises from the surrounding farmland; it contains the highest concentration of native plant communities in Stearns County, including oak and maple-basswood forests, tamarack and mixed-hardwood swamps, and wet meadows. It harbors numerous rare species, including American ginseng, cerulean warbler, red-shouldered hawk, and Blanding's turtle. The area has been identified as a Conservation Focus Area in Minnesota DNR's Wildlife Action Plan 2015-2025 and is consistent with conservation overlay district priorities of the Stearns County 2030 Comprehensive Plan. It is also a designated Audubon Important Bird Area.
The Minnesota Land Trust (MLT) and Saint John's University (SJU) have a long-standing and successful partnership to protect and restore the Avon Hills. Our goal is to permanently protect 70% of the Avon Hills (about 25,000 acres) over the next 20 years. With the assistance of the State of Minnesota and conservation-minded landowners, 6,647 acres of the Avon Hills have already been protected (>26.5% of our ambitious goal). The US Fish and Wildlife Service and other conservation entities have also prioritized protection efforts here, which indicates the importance of the region. Much of the Avon Hills is privately owned; high development pressure continues to elevate and threaten critical pieces of the existing ecosystem.
Program partners will secure conservation easements from willing landowners to protect the highest quality wildlife habitat remaining within the Hardwood Hills. Employing a market-based approach to identifying and procuring easements, program partners will encourage landowners to donate significant portions of their easement value, representing a significant cost savings to the state.
Saint John's University will serve as the primary local partner, conducting outreach within our priority areas and assisting with project selection. The Minnesota Land Trust will secure the conservation easements and steward them in perpetuity.
$1,894,000 the first year is to the commissioner of natural resources for agreements to acquire permanent conservation easements and restore and enhance forest habitats in the hardwood hills ecological section of west-central Minnesota as follows: $175,000 to St. John's University and $1,719,000 to Minnesota Land Trust. $168,000 of the amount to Minnesota Land Trust is to establish a monitoring and enforcement fund as approved in the accomplishment plan and subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 97A.056, subdivision 17. A list of proposed permanent conservation easements, restorations, and enhancements must be provided as part of the required accomplishment plan.
Protected, restored, and enhanced nesting and migratory habitat for waterfowl, upland birds, and species of greatest conservation need - This program will permanently protect 450 acres of forest and wetland habitat in the forest-prairie transition region. Measure: Acres protected; acres restored; acres enhanced
Landowners