Many of Minnesota's wetlands have been lost and the remainder degraded. The original proposal planned for 15,000 acres of wetland/shallow lake enhancement to provide critical habitat for each life stage of waterfowl and wetland wildlife. The six projects subsequently completed with this appropriation enhanced 13,800 acres of wetlands and shallow lakes in the Prarie and Forest/Prairie Ecosections of Minnestoa.
Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will cooperate to permanently restore and conserve approximately 800 acres of grassland and 400 acres of wetland as Waterfowl Production Areas in western and southern Minnesota. All lands acquired through this grant proposal will be owned and managed by the Service as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
This programmatic partnership between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Ducks Unlimited (DU) will accelerate enhancement, restoration, and protection of shallow lakes and wetlands important to waterfowl. This partnership will assess, design, and implement shallow lake and wetland enhancement, restoration, and protection projects to address the most important wetland issues facing waterfowl and other wetland wildlife in Minnesota.
Pheasants Forever (PF) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will cooperate to permanently restore and protect approximately 700 acres as Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) in western and southern Minnesota. All lands acquired through this grant proposal will be owned and managed by the Service as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
This program uses a multi-programmatic approach to achieve prioritized aquatic habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement for lakes, trout streams, and rivers across Minnesota. We propose to: i) protect 7.8 miles of shoreline on lakes, rivers and trout streams; ii) effect structural repairs to 2 lake outlet control structures that will integrate fish passage; iii) restore and enhance river and stream functions that will benefit over 50.5 river miles; and iv) enhance 1.4 miles of shoreline habitat on publicly-owned lakeshore.
This proposal impacts shallow lakes and wetlands in Minnesota through the design and construction of projects, enhancement work done by DNR roving habitat crews, and shallow lakes work identified and initiated through the DNR Shallow Lakes program. Ten thousand acres of wetlands were enhanced by these activities.
This appropriation funded 283 projects totaling 21,953 acres. The two largest types of enhancement were 112 woody removal projects totaling 10,160 acres and 134 prescribed burns totaling 10,082 acres. Additionally, we seeded 30 sites totaling 1386 acres, put in infrastructure for conservation grazing of 236 acres on 3 sites, conducted 3 oak savanna enhancements totaling 42 acres, and treated 47 acres of invasive species on 2 sites.
This proposal will address a backlog of shallow lake and wetland habitat work that will otherwise go unfunded. These projects will address work called for in the Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan, Long Range Duck Recovery Plan, and Shallow Lakes plan.
We propose restoration and enhancement of prairie and savanna on WMA’s, SNA’s, and Native Prairie Banks in Minnesota and restoration and enhancement of bluff prairies on State Forest Land in southeast Minnesota.
This proposal accelerates the permanent protection of 760 acres of wetlands (175 acres) and grasslands (585 acres) as Waterfowl Production Areas open to public hunting in Minnesota.
This Phase XIV proposal permanently protects and restores 9058 acres of Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) open to public hunting in Minnesota. Pheasants Forever (PF) will acquire parcels that are adjacent to existing public land or create corridors between complexes. All acquisitions will occur in the prairie, prairie/forest transition, or metro regions. Acquired properties will be restored to the highest extent possible with regard to time and budgets.
This Phase XV proposal permanently protects and restores 678 acres of Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) open to public hunting in Minnesota. Pheasants Forever (PF) will acquire parcels that are adjacent to existing public land or create corridors between complexes. All acquisitions will occur in the prairie, prairie/forest transition, or metro regions. Acquired properties will be restored to the highest extent possible with regard to time and budgets.
In this phase of the Accelerating the Waterfowl Production Area program, Pheasants Forever (PF) seeks to permanently protect and restore parcels of land as Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) in the prairie, prairie forest transition, and metro regions of Minnesota. Acquired parcels will be either adjacent to or between existing public lands to create larger complexes or corridors for a variety of wildlife species. These properties will be restored to their greatest potential habitat possible with regard to time and budget constraints.
CMSM opened its new permanent site with increased capacity to serve as an informal learning center that playfully engages children, families, and school groups in interactive experiences with the art and cultural heritage of southern Minnesota. With its current appropriation, CMSM is poised to strengthen its core as an institution that promotes arts and cultural heritage learning through continued
CMSM will build upon the work that began with its 2015-16 appropriation by (1) Remediation and further development of exhibit areas that promote Arts & Cultural Heritage (ACH) learning (2) Expanding ACH learning opportunities for new audiences at off-site locations; (3) Engaging an outside Evaluation Consultant to help plan/implement strategies that meaningfully assess ACH learning outcomes and impacts; (4) Boosting the Museum’s capacity to serve more school/early learning groups.
As Minnesota’s state Zoo, we are committed to ensuring that our programs are accessible to all our citizens – regardless of age, geographic location, disability or background. “Zoo Unlimited” is our community outreach and access initiative that unites a wide range of programs and policies designed to ensure every Minnesotan has unlimited opportunities to form stronger connections with the natural world. Legacy funds help us implement this program bridge barriers that keep people from connecting with all the Zoo has to offer.
133 microfilmed copies of seven newspapers from the general area were purchased by the Freeborn county Historical society for its research library. The newspapers span the years from 1870 to 2008 and provide a resource for researching family histories, businesses, government agencies, news media and general public infomation.
Complete efficient, time-sensitive acquisition of high priority State Park inholdings, conduct needed site cleanup, and convey the properties to the state to enhance Minnesota's environment and public recreation opportunities.
The Albert Lea Lake Management project replaced the previous Albert Lea Lake fix-crest dam with a 3-in-1 structure that included a rock riffle dam, a lake level management structure, and an electric fish barrier. The benefits from this project include improved aquatic and waterfowl habitat, invasive species management, and improved desirable fish populations.
