The Conservation Fund and Minnesota Land Trust will protect 380 acres of high-priority grassland, prairie, and wetland wildlife habitat with working lands conservation easements in western, central, and southeastern Minnesota. Grasslands represent one of Minnesota’s most threatened habitat types. Privately-held and well-managed grasslands in strategic habitat complexes have provided lasting benefits for Minnesota’s wildlife. This project will permanently prevent the conversion of grasslands to row crops.
Minnesota’s use of groundwater has increased over the last two decades. An increasing reliance on groundwater may not be a sustainable path for continued economic growth and development. The DNR is establishing three pilot groundwater management areas (GWMA) to help improve groundwater appropriation decisions and help groundwater users better understand and plan for future groundwater needs associated with economic development.
Overall Project Outcome and Results
This project contained two types of habitat enhancement that resulted in the enhancement of a total of 72 acres of habitat.
With this appropriation, the Minnesota Land Trust plans to protect approximately 500 acres of critical shoreline habitat along Minnesota's lakes, wetlands, rivers, and streams by securing permanent conservation easements and dedicating funds for their perpetual monitoring, management, and enforcement. Lands being considered for permanent protection in this round of funding are located in Becker, Beltrami, Blue Earth, Itasca, Kandiyohi, Lac Qui Parle, Le Sueur, Otter Tail, Pope, and Wabasha counties.
Hennepin County, in partnership with the Minnesota Land Trust, proposes to permanently protect through conservation easement 299 acres of the most important natural areas remaining in the county, and restore and enhance 84 acres of protected habitat including forest, savanna, prairie, wetlands, shallow lakes, shoreline, bluffs, and riparian areas.
With only 1% of Minnesota’s native prairie remaining, many prairie plant and animal species have dramatically declined. Of the 12 butterfly species native to Minnesota prairies, two species, the Poweshiek skipperling and the Dakota skipper, have already largely disappeared from the state and are proposed for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act despite being historically among the most common prairie butterflies and having their historic ranges concentrated in Minnesota.
This project acquired a small portion of land in Interstate State Park. The land may serve a trail connection from Scandia into the park in the future.
This proposal will address two separate problems: the eminent failure of the Lake George dam and two severe erosion sites on the Rum River at Rum River Central Regional Park. We propose to replace the current failing sheet pile dam with a new dam that allows for fish passage on the outlet of Lake George. We also propose to repair two river bank erosion sites rated as 'Severe' totaling approximately 625 feet on the Rum River which will reduce sediment loading into the river by 285 tons per year and will provide improved in stream fish habitat.
This project will improve the water quality of Lake Rebecca in Lake Rebecca Park Reserve, and improve the fish habitat in the premier muskellunge brood stock lake in Minnesota. Water quality improvements will be achieved through a combination of management activities in the watershed to reduce phosphorus inflow to Lake Rebecca, control of the invasive species curly-leaf pondweed, stabilization of eroding shorelines, and application of alum (aluminum sulfate) to reduce internal phosphorus loading.
Acquire 26-acres with 8,000 feet of lake shore located 2 miles west of the city of Alexandria. This will be the first phase of a larger acquisition totaling 136 acres. The property is bisected by the Central Lakes Trail and contains unimproved uplands, high hills, scenic vistas, small wood lots and wetlands.
MPRB requests $444,000 to improve aquatic habitat in Lake Nokomis through integrated lake management. This project will enhance 4580 linear feet of shoreline.
Attempted to Acquire 108.5 acres of land adjacent to the 555 acre Janet Johnson WMA. The land is a mix of forest (29 acres), wetlands (35 acres on the NWI), and agriculture (44.5 acres).
This Phase 6 request for Ducks Unlimited’s Living Lakes program will enhance 1,000 acres of shallow lakes and restore 50 acres of small wetlands by engineering and installing water control structures for Minnesota DNR and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on public lands and wetlands under easement. Structures will be used by DNR and Service partners to restore wetland hydrology and actively manage shallow lake water levels to enhance their ecology for ducks, other birds, and hunters in the Prairie Region of Minnesota.
This Phase 7 request for Ducks Unlimited's Living Lakes program will enhance 1,160 acres of shallow lakes and restore 120 acres of small wetlands by engineering and installing water control structures for Minnesota DNR and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on public lands and wetlands under easement. Structures will help DNR and Service agency partners restore wetland hydrology and actively manage shallow lake water levels to enhance their ecology for ducks, other birds, and hunters in Minnesota's Prairie Pothole Region.
Phase 2 of Ducks Unlimited's ongoing engineering program restored and enhanced shallow lakes and wetlands by installing water level control structures to improve aquatic plant abundance and water clarity in partnership with the Minnesota DNR and U.S.
In this Phase 4 of our ongoing "Living Lakes" program to enhance shallow lakes and restore wetlands, DU successfully enhanced 5,952 acres of shallow lakes and wetlands and restored 59 acres of wetlands by completing 16 separate projects for waterfowl and other wildlife in the Prairie, Transition, and Metro Sections in partnership with Minnesota DNR, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and private landowners.
This proposal seeks to enhance and restore 35 acres of fish and wildlife habitat on the lower Mississippi River in Houston County benefiting bluegill, crappie, bass, deer and Blue-winged and Prothonotary warblers. Sedimentation in Upper Mississippi River (UMR) backwaters and declining UMR floodplain forests are a concern to resource managers, anglers, hunters and recreational users.
This program resulted in permanent protection of three parcels totaling 350 acres. All three parcels are now being managed as Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) by MN DNR. This exceeds the original goal of 319 acres. Acquisition of two other parcels were attempted, but the offers were turned down by the sellers.
The Lower Mississippi River Habitat Restoration Partnership is a long-term effort to restore habitat connectivity and improve water quality in critical areas along the Mississippi River corridor from the Twin Cities to the Iowa border by reconnecting tributaries to their floodplains, revitalizing backwaters and channels, and protecting and restoring floodplain forests, wetlands, and prairies that are essential to sustaining the incredible diversity of plants, animals, and human uses provided by this great river.
The Lower Mississippi River Habitat Partnership included three distinct project components. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enhanced 700 acres of wetland and bottomland forest habitat on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge’s (Refuge) Root River Tract in Houston County.
This funding resulted in permanent protection of three strategically located parcels totaling 125 acres. Funding was used to protect high priority parcels within the Lower Root and Lower Zumbro River floodplains. This was part of a broad partnership working to improve habitat quality and connectivity in critical areas along the Mississippi River corridor. Two of the three parcels acquired are now being managed as State Forests (SFT), while the third parcel is being managed as a Wildlife Management Area (WMA).
Project Outcome and Results
The Metro Conservation Corridors (MeCC) Partnership completed its fifth phase of work to accelerate protection and restoration of remaining high-quality natural lands in the greater Twin Cities metropolitan area. Work was accomplished by strategically coordinating and focusing conservation efforts within a connected network of critical lands that stretches from the area's urban core to its rural perimeter, including portions of 16 counties.
Project Outcome and Results
In its Critical Lands Protection Program, The Trust for Public Land (TPL) used $380,000 ENRTF funds to secure fee title on 21.63 ENRTF acres of 402 total acquired acres. TPL conveyed these lands to public agencies for permanent protection. Individual project successes include the following:
