This program will harness the expertise, resources, and connections of a broad community of committed conservation stakeholders to significantly elevate restoration and enhancement of oak savannas (Minnesota's most critically imperiled habitat), woodlands and forests on public lands across the region.
With funding from the Outdoor Heritage Fund and other leveraged sources, the Anoka Sand Plain Partnership restored/enhanced 1,866 acres of priority wildlife habitat within the Anoka Sand Plain and in the Rum River watershed in east-central Minnesota.
The Anoka Sand Plain Partnership restored / enhanced 3,714 acres of priority prairie, savanna, forest, wetland, and shoreline habitat on public lands and waters within the Anoka Sand Plain EcoRegion within the Metropolitan Urbanizing, Forest-Prairie, and Northern Forest regions. Total R/E acreage achieved over the course of the appropriation is 126% of our stated acreage goals, and was accomplished through a robust partnership of four direct recipients improving a total of 16 priority sites including WMAs, state forest, national wildlife refuges, city and county lands.
The Anoka Sand Plain (ASP) Partnership will protect 164 acres through conservation easement, restore/enhance 468 acres of Prairie/Oak Savanna, Wetland, Habitat, and Woodland/Forest, including rescue and relocation of 11,000 rare plants, at sites centered around the DNR's ASP ecoregion. Our actions will increase biodiversity, habitat connectivity, recreational opportunities, and landscape resilience, which align with the ASP Partnership's 10-year Strategic Plan, DNR Wildlife Action Plan and LSOHC Section priorities.
The Anoka Sand Plain (ASP) Partnership protected 423 acres through conservation easement, restored/enhanced 768 acres of Prairie/Oak Savanna, Wetland, Habitat, and Woodland/Forest habitats, including rescue and relocation of 11,000 rare plants, at sites centered around the DNR's ASP ecoregion. Overall, we reached 112% of our acreage goals, and an additional 5.4 miles of shoreline.
This project will use the We Are Water MN traveling exhibit and the Minnesota Humanities Center's approach to community engagement, relationship building, and storytelling, to increase community capacity for sustainable watershed management in six Minnesota watersheds.
The goal of this project is to use the We Are Water MN exhibit and their technical knowledge in relationship-building and storytelling to increase community capacity for sustainable watershed management in the Cannon River, Cedar River, Mississippi-Headwaters, Mississippi-Grand Rapids, Mississippi-Twin Cities, Red Lake River, Rum River and St. Louis River watersheds.
This project will use the We Are Water MN traveling exhibit and the Minnesota Humanities Center's approach to community engagement, relationship building, and storytelling, to increase community capacity for sustainable watershed management in five Minnesota watersheds. The following communities were selected as host sites for this project:
Winona (City of Winona), active hosting period: March 3-April 25, 2022
Lake City (Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance), active hosting period: April 28-June 20, 2022
Our focus is on planning and implementation of programming suitable for indigenous and non-indigenous special-needs youth, that allows for an enriching experience that values indigenous culture and affords engaging and creative ways for learning and personal growth. We will modify the "traditional" Native Skywatchers We Are Stardust workshop training with follow-up transition and support for these youth to share Stardust workshop activities in the role of afterschool club leaders.
South Central Technical Service Area (SCTSA) will use this Clean Water Fund grant to provide Soil and Water Conservation Districts and other local organizations in its eleven-county area with a Geographic Information System (GIS) Technician to assist in using available GIS information to target specific locations where Best Management Practices (BMPs) can be installed to help improve water quality.
This project will provide condition monitoring and problem investigation monitoring at the following sites.
Mississippi River: Tributaries include Bassett Creek, Cannon River, Crow River, and Minnehaha Creek.
Minnesota River: Tributaries include Eagle Creek,Riley Creek, and Valley Creek tributary to the St. Croix River
