RIM Grassland Reserve - Phase II
Using the Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) program, this project addressed the potential loss of grassland habitats from conversion to cropland and accelerate grassland protection efforts not covered by other programs. Focusing on Minnesota Prairie Plan-identified landscapes and working in coordination with established Prairie Conservation Plan Local Technical Teams (LTTs), this project fulfilled the accomplishment plan goal of enrolling 710 acres of grassland habitat in permanent conservation easements by completing more easements than estimated, for a total of 13 easements. One 110 acre easement along the Chippewa River in Pope County included numerous pollinator plantings in the surrounding cropland as buffer.
In 2019 alone, over 96,000 acres of Minnesota CRP were set to expire, with an additional 144,554 acres expiring over the next two years. Minnesota was once a land of 18 million acres of prairie. Today less than two percent remains. The few acres of native remnant prairie that remain were once thought of as too rocky or wet for row crops but not anymore. If the current trajectory of grassland and prairie loss continues it will be devastating to grassland wildlife populations, including pollinator species.
This project protected 710 acres of prairie and grassland habitat by coordinating and accelerating the enrollment of Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) through private land easements.
This level of acceleration was needed to address today's rapid loss of grassland habitat and meet the goals set forth in the Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan. Native prairies are often part of large complexes of restored prairies, grasslands, and wetlands. These complexes were the top priority for this project using the MN Prairie Plan framework. The priority was to protect expiring CRP with enrollment of adjacent remnant prairie as identified in the MN County Biological Survey. This focus on expiring CRP filled a niche that cannot otherwise be filled by the Native Prairie Bank program. LTTs helped guide restoration strategies such as prescribed burning, conservation grazing and woody tree removal to be used to restore the conditions of moderate quality prairies. In addition, the LTTs identified remnant prairie sites that are not listed on the MN County Biological Survey and updated the survey accordingly. In partnership with the LTTs, the project targeted parcels for protection and tracked and reported the resulting protected acres.
$3,233,000 the second year is to the Board of Water and Soil Resources to acquire permanent conservation easements and to restore and enhance grassland habitat under Minnesota Statutes, section 103F.501 to 103F.531. Of this amount, up to $58,000 is for establishing a monitoring and enforcement fund as approved in the accomplishment plan and subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 97A.056, subdivision 17. A list of permanent conservation easements must be provided as part of the final report.
Minnesota grasslands provide important habitat for a wide range of species of greatest conservation need. Consistent with guidance in The Minnesota Wildlife Action Plan and Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan, strategic site selection was conducted as well as efforts to minimize landscape stressors and plan for plant diversity and long-term resiliency of project sites. More than 150 Species of Greatest Conservation Need use grasslands for breeding, migration, and/or foraging.
Species that were targeted included: Greater prairie chicken, Eastern meadowlark, Western meadowlark, Grasshopper sparrow, Northern pintail, Northern black duck, Burrowing owl, Chestnut collared longspur, Bobolink, Wilson's phalarope, Sedge wren, Plains hog-nosed snake, American badger, Prairie vole, Plains pocket mouse, Eastern spotted skunk, Dakota skipper, Monarch butterfly, Poweshiek skipper, Regal fritillary, Rusty patched bumble bee.