Moose, one of Minnesota's prized wildlife species, are dying at much higher rates in Minnesota than elsewhere in North America. Recently observed increases in mortality rates amongst some moose in northeastern Minnesota have led to concern that the population there may be entering a decline like that seen in the northwestern part of the state, where moose populations fell from over 4,000 to fewer than 100 in less than 20 years. Additionally the specific causes of increased mortality amongst individual moose remain under investigation.
The Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS), in collaboration with federal, state, county, tribal, university and non-governmental organizational (NGO) partners, seeks to continue the successful work of previous Moose Habitat Collaborative (Collaborative) grants to stabilize/sustain Minnesota's moose population by enhancing ~8,000 acres of cover/forage habitat for moose.
The Minnesota Moose Habitat Collaborative enhanced approximately 7349 acres of moose habitat in northern forests of Northeastern Minnesota within Cook, Lake and St. Louis counties on county, state, and federal land.
Prior to European settlement more than 18 million acres of prairie covered Minnesota. Today less than 1% of that native prairie remains, and about half of those remaining acres are in private landownership without any formal protection currently in place. Through this appropriation the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will work with private landowners of high quality native prairie sites to protect remaining native prairie using a variety of tools. Approximately 200 acres are expected to be permanently protected through Native Prairie Bank conservation easements.
The Nature Conservancy and US Fish and Wildlife Service will work together to permanently protect native prairie and associated complexes of wetlands and native habitats in western and central Minnesota by purchasing approximately 705 acres of fee title properties and/or permanent habitat easements. Approximately 350 acres will be native prairie. Work will be focused in areas identified as having significant biodiversity by the Minnesota Biological Survey and located in priority areas in the Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan.
The Nature Conservancy and US Fish and Wildlife Service will cooperate to permanently protect native prairie and associated complexes of wetlands and native habitats in western Minnesota by purchasing approximately 770 acres of fee title properties and/or habitat easements, with a target of 385 acres of native prairie.
The Nature Conservancy and US Fish and Wildlife Service will work together to permanently protect native prairie and associated complexes of wetlands and native habitats in western and central Minnesota by purchasing approximately 875 acres of fee title properties and/or permanent habitat easements. Approximately 469 acres will be native prairie. Work will be focused in areas identified as having significant biodiversity by the Minnesota Biological Survey and located in priority areas in the Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan.
The Nature Conservancy and US Fish and Wildlife Service will work together to permanently protect native prairie and associated complexes of wetlands and native habitats in western and central Minnesota by purchasing approximately 620 acres of fee title properties and/or permanent habitat easements. Approximately 333 acres will be native prairie. Work will be focused in areas identified as having significant biodiversity by the Minnesota Biological Survey and/or the US Fish and Wildlife Service and located in priority areas in the Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan.
This program will permanently protect remnant native prairie and associated wetland complexes in western Minnesota by purchasing fee title properties and/or habitat easements. Lands and easements purchased through this program by The Nature Conservancy will be transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and will become units of the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge to be owned and managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
This appropriation allowed the permanent protection of 887 acres in western Minnesota. These properties included 664 acres of remnant native prairie, 76 acres of associated wetlands complexes, and 8,500' of streamfront. For this phase we originally planned to protect 740 acres with a minimum of 375 native prairie. Both targets were exceeded - 120% of total acres and 177% of native prairie acres.
This program is managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to provide competitive matching grants of up to $400,000 to local, regional, state, and national organizations, including government. Grant activities include the enhancement, restoration, or protection of forests, wetlands, prairies, and habitat for fish, game, or wildlife in Minnesota. A 10% non-state cash or in-kind match was required from all grantees, and was identified at the time of application.
The Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program (CPL) is managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to provide competitive matching grants of up to $400,000 to local, regional, state, and national non-profit organizations and governments. Grant activities include the enhancement, restoration, or protection of forests, wetlands, prairies, and habitat for fish, game, or wildlife in Minnesota. A match of at least 10% from nonstate sources was required for grants of $100,000 or less, and a match of at least 15% from nonstate sources was required for grants over $100,000.
This project contributed to the goals of the MN Prairie Conservation Plan by protecting 284 acres of native prairie/wetland/savanna; restoring 102 acres prairie/wetland; and enhancing 10,045 acres grassland/savanna. When combined with Phases 1-7 of the Prairie Recovery Program we have cumulatively protected 7,734 acres, enhanced 154,814 acres and restored 2,036 acres using Outdoor Heritage Fund dollars. We will continue to implement subsequent Phases toward meeting the conservation goals described in the MN Prairie Conservation Plan.
The Prairie Chicken Habitat Partnership IV permanently protects 303 acres of greater prairie chicken habitat in the Southern Red River Valley of Minnesota. This partnership protects and restores strategic habitat that builds onto or creates corridors between existing protected lands. Acquired lands will be transferred to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) to be included as a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) or to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as a WPA.
This project will advance the prairie protection, restoration and enhancement goals established in the 2018 revision of the MN Prairie Conservation Plan. It builds upon the successful model established in Phases 1 - 8 and seeks to protect 500 acres in fee without PILT obligations to be held by The Nature Conservancy, enhance 14,000 acres of permanently protected grasslands, and restore 100 acres of prairie and wetland habitat.
In phase V of this program, we purchased two properties totaling 1,076 acres, which exceeds our acre goal by 408 acres. The Prosby addition to the Cupido WMA in Norman County was 955 acres, and the Lehrke addition to the Parke WPA in Clay County was 121 acres. Upon purchase, we restored the uplands and wetlands to the fullest extent possible. Both tracts have been transferred to either the MN DNR or USFWS.
This project will advance the prairie protection, restoration and enhancement goals established in the 2011 MN Prairie Conservation Plan. It builds upon the successful model established in Phases 1 - 6 and seeks to protect 200 acres in fee without PILT obligations to be held by The Nature Conservancy, protect an additional 100 acres with PILT for inclusion in the State's Wildlife Management or Scientific Natural Area systems, enhance 7,500 acres of permanently protected grasslands, and restore 100 acres of prairie habitat.
Phase 3 of the PCHP sought to acquire parcels as State Wildlife Management Areas or Waterfowl Production Areas in the Southern Red River Valley. Over the course of the appropriation, we acquired one 64.1 acre tract as a waterfowl production area and two tracts totaling 555.7 acres as wildlife management areas. Upland prairie and wetland habitat were restored on all tracts to provide the highest quality wildlife habitat possible.
The project will advance the protection, restoration and enhancement goals for prairie and grassland habitat as described in the 2018 update of the MN Prairie Conservation Plan. It builds upon the highly successful model established in prior Prairie Recovery Phases and seeks to protect approximately 600 acres in fee without PILT obligations to be held by The Nature Conservancy, enhance approximately 10,000 acres of permanently protected grasslands, and restore roughly 200 acres of prairie and wetland habitat.
This proposal protects and restores 400 acres of land in the Minnesota prairie-chicken range, that will be transferred to the MNDNR as a WMA or to the USFWS as a WPA. All land will be open to public hunting. MN Prairie Chicken Society and Pheasants Forever will be protecting parcels that focus specifically on prairie chicken benefits, which makes this proposal unique and highly focused. All acquisitions will occur within the prairie and prairie/forest planning regions with a focus in Clay, Norman, Mahnomen and Wilkin counties which is the primary range of prairie chickens in Minnesota.
The project will advance the protection, restoration and enhancement goals for prairie and grassland habitat that are articulated in the 2018 update of the MN Prairie Conservation Plan. It builds upon the highly successful model established in Phases 1 - 9 and seeks to protect 300 acres in fee without PILT obligations to be held by The Nature Conservancy, enhance 14,000 acres of permanently protected grasslands, and restore 50 acres of prairie and wetland habitat.
The Prairie Chicken Habitat Partnership VI accelerates the protection and restoration of 408 acres of strategic prairie chicken-focused habitats that will be transferred to the MNDNR as a WMA or to the USFWS as a WPA and are open to public hunting. MN Prairie Chicken Society and Pheasants Forever will protect parcels that focus specifically on prairie chicken benefits, which makes this proposal unique and highly focused.
Phase Four of the MN Prairie Recovery Program resulted in a total of 1,707 acres protected, 37,567 acres enhanced, and 440 acres restored. When combined with Phases 1-3 of the Prairie Recovery Program we have cumulatively protected 5,777 acres, enhanced 95,701 acres and restored 754 acres using Outdoor Heritage Fund dollars. We will continue to implement subsequent Phases toward meeting the conservation goals described in the MN Prairie Conservation Plan.
This project contributed to the goals of the MN Prairie Conservation Plan by protecting 698 acres of native prairie/wetland/savanna; restoring 698 acres prairie/wetland; and enhancing 18,839 acres grassland/savanna. When combined with Phases 1-4 of the Prairie Recovery Program we have cumulatively protected 6,475 acres, enhanced 114,595 acres and restored 1,452 acres using Outdoor Heritage Fund dollars. We will continue to implement subsequent Phases toward meeting the conservation goals described in the MN Prairie Conservation Plan.
This project contributed to the?goals?of?the MN Prairie Conservation Plan?by protecting 539 acres of?prairie/wetland/savanna habitat; restoring 151 acres prairie/grassland; and enhancing 24,604 acres grassland/savanna.?We will continue to implement subsequent Phases toward meeting the conservation goals described in the MN Prairie Conservation Plan.
The proposal was to accelerate the protection of 500 acres of prairie grassland, wetland, and other wildlife habitat as State Wildlife Management Areas or Waterfowl Production Areas in the Southern Red River Valley. Over the course of the appropriation, we acquired the 614 acre Prairie Dunes WMA which exceeded our total acre goal of 141 acres. This tract was also restored to provide the highest quality wildlife habitat possible.
This program will bring focused conservation to one of Minnesota's priority aquatic resources, Lakes of Outstanding Biological Significance. These threatened lakes possess outstanding fisheries and provide habitat for a variety of SGCN; yet, at present, no habitat protection program specifically targets these priority resources. Through this proposal, the Minnesota Land Trust will protect through perpetual conservation easements 1/2 mile of shoreland and 216 acres of habitat associated with the top 10% of these lakes in northeast and northcentral Minnesota.
Protect and restore 590 acres of significant wildlife habitat through conservation easements and restoration projects on private lands within Important Bird Areas with an emphasis on those located in within priority areas identified in the Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan.
Pond enhancement project to repair and expand an existing man made pond to improve outdoor recreational opportunities for park visitors that use the pond for fishing, boating and wildlife viewing.
Minnesota Trout Unlimited, the Minnesota Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, and Trust for Public Land will combine their expertise in six targeted watersheds to increase the resilience of remnant populations of brook trout unique to Southeast Minnesota. We will protect and enhance habitat in floodplains, along gullies, above steep slopes, and on bluffs to slow runoff, increase infiltration, and keep aquatic habitat productive.
Minnesota's wetlands provide crucial habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife, assist in flood control, and help maintain water quality. However, the state has lost half the wetlands that existed before European settlement and these drained wetlands have not been mapped as part of the National Wetlands Inventory. This appropriation is enabling efforts by Ducks Unlimited to provide a complement to the National Wetlands Inventory by identifying and mapping drained wetlands that have the potential to be restored to provide their various benefits once again.
