McLeod County WMA Enhancements

Having less idle lands is putting more pressure on permanently protected lands to be as productive as possible. The McLeod County WMA Enhancements proposal will enhance 90 acres of permanently protected upland cover on Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). Scattered tree removal will significantly enhance the grassland complex on Penn WMA, Phasianus WMA, and Prairie Heritage WMA and maximize production of pheasant, waterfowl and other wildlife. In addition to these WMA's that currently suffer from volunteer woody cover invasion, this proposal also converts 8 acres of brome on Prieve WMA back to a diverse seed mixture. Grasslands like these over time degrade naturally and periodic enhancements are needed to keep them functioning properly. By enhancing these grasslands, we maximize past investments in habitat protection and create a robust structure of productive and more resilient habitat for waterfowl and other grassland/wetland species. The negatives associated with tree encroachment in grasslands are well documented, causing higher levels predation and avoidance by area-sensitive grassland birds (http://www.fws.gov/midwest/hapet/TreeRemoval.html, Bakker 2008, Thompson 2013 & 2014 http://www.fws.gov/midwest/hapet/documents/tree_biblio_2008.pdf ). Enhancing upland cover will also improve the usability of this habitat by pollinators and other endemic non-game species.