St. Croix Watershed Habitat Protection and Restoration Phase 4
Wild Rivers Conservancy of the St. Croix and Namekagon, Minnesota Land Trust, and The Trust for Public Land will work in partnership to permanently protect approximately 1000 acres of critical wildlife habitat on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River watershed through fee-title acquisition and conservation easements. The goals of the program are to protect high quality wildlife habitat, improve conservation connectivity, and provide public access for outdoor recreation opportunities.
The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway is the country's first "Wild and Scenic" National Park, designated by congress in 1968. It's nearly 8,000 square mile watershed is home to a diverse abundance of native flora and fauna, including 128 listed Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). It is a regional attraction for upwards of 1 million visitors annually due to its many recreation opportunities such as high-quality fishing and hunting, and boating. Beyond the protection of the Riverway's boundary the threat of development, fragmentation, and conversion to agriculture is substantial.
The partnership, consisting of Wild Rivers Conservancy (Conservancy), Minnesota Land Trust (MLT), and The Trust for Public Land (TPL), will work to increase the amount of land permanently protected on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River watershed.
Phase 1 and Phase 2 (ML19 and ML21) of the St. Croix Watershed Habitat Protection and Restoration program have shown just how ready landowners are for permanent protection in such a pristine watershed. To date, the program partnership has led to five active easements totaling over 1,300 acres and nearly 6.5 miles of protected streams, and nearly 730 acres of land acquired in fee.
ML19 funds have largely been spent and a significant amount of ML21 funds committed. In addition, a portion of ML22 funds, available in July of 2022, are already obligated. Additional funding is needed to continue to the program.
TPL will protect approximately 700 acres through fee-title acquisition. TPL proposes the creation of a new WMA in Washington County, Keystone Woods. This 2,600+ acre property has high biodiversity significance, connects a number of conservation areas serving as a corridor to the St. Croix River, contains a number of lakes, and is excellent habitat for a variety of wildlife, waterfowl, and fish. It is one of the County's Top 10 Priority Conservation Areas and is one of the largest blocks of private land in single ownership in the Metro. It would provide quality, close to home hunting and fishing opportunities for Metro residents who may be new to WMAs. TPL proposes to protect a portion of the WMA land through this proposal and another through its Metro Big Rivers proposal. This is a very rare opportunity to protect such a large block of high-quality habitat so close to the Metro.
MLT will acquire approximately 300 acres of conservation easements and develop habitat management plans for eased acres. Projects within targeted priority areas will be identified through a competitive RFP process and subsequently ranked based on ecological value and cost, prioritizing the best projects and securing them at the lowest cost to the state. MLT will negotiate and close all conservation easements.
The Conservancy will provide overall program administration and landowner outreach and engagement.
$13,306,000 the first year is to the commissioner of natural resources for agreements to acquire land in fee and permanent conservation easements and to restore and enhance natural habitat systems in the St. Croix River watershed as follows: $11,171,000 to Trust for Public Land; $105,000 to Wild Rivers Conservancy; and $2,030,000 to Minnesota Land Trust. Up to $168,000 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 land acquisitions and permanent conservation easements must be provided as part of the required accomplishment plan.
Forestlands are protected from development and fragmentation - This project will be measured by the acres of high quality forestlands that are permanently protected from development and fragmentation. Protected land will also be evaluated by its proximity to existing public lands as well as connectivity to other protected forestlands.
A network of natural land and riparian habitats will connect corridors for wildlife and species in greatest conservation need - This project will be measured by the acres of wildlife corridors protected and evaluated based on the observed use by wildlife populations and evidence of SGCN
Landowners, Private and Washington County