RIM Wetlands - Restoring the most productive habitat in Minnesota

Wetlands are among the world's most productive environments with high biodiversity (a large variety of life forms). Only rain forests and coral reefs have more biodiversity. Wetlands are a home to many species of migratory and resident birds, reptiles and amphibians, fish, insects, and plants. They also benefit society by storing floodwaters, filtering pollutants, serving as a carbon sink, and providing recreation sites for boating and fishing. Minnesota has lost an estimated 42% of its original 16 million acres of wetlands to drainage or fill activities. The loss of wetlands is most severe in the prairie regions of the state (approximately 90% loss).

Nearly 75 percent of all wetlands are privately owned, making it imperative that the public participate in wetland management and protection.

Up to one-half of North American bird species nest or feed in wetlands and provide a home to at least one third of all threatened and endangered species. "Prairie potholes are highly productive ecosystems of unparalleled importance to breeding waterfowl and many other species of wetland wildlife. Moreover, they are important nutrient sinks, store runoff that reduces flooding, sequester carbon, and provide other environmental and socioeconomic values" The past, present, and future of prairie potholes in the United States. May 2008 Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 63(3).

The typical sites this program prioritizes and targets are privately drained and farmed wetlands and associated uplands that offer little habitat or ecological benefits in their current state. Through a combination of eligibility screening and a scoring and ranking process, the program evaluates and selects applications that provide the greatest habitat and environmental benefit after restoration and protection via a BWSR RIM easement.

RIM Wetlands is a local-state partnership delivered by SWCDs and BWSR. BWSR staff provide program oversight and manage the easement acquisition process and restoration design. Local staff promote RIM easements, assist with easement processing and provide technical assistance and project management services.