Dakota County, in conjunction with the Minnesota Bison Conservation Herd, will reintroduce American plains bison (Bison bison) to the prairie of Spring Lake Park Reserve.
PROJECT OVERVIEW The Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Wetlands Reserve Program restores wetlands and grasslands through the purchase of permanent conservation easements on privately owned land. The easements limit future land use and put conservation plans in place for future management. The Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources is using this appropriation to accelerate the RIM Wetlands Reserve Program resulting in additional permanently protected wetlands and grasslands throughout the state.
The research will collect samples of microplastics to establish relationships between physical and remote sensing characteristics of microplastics for cost effective monitoring of microplastics in Minnesota natural and engineered waters.
Long-term forest plot datasets are helpful for understanding the changing conditions and ecology of forestland over time. The USDA Forest Service produced statewide forest inventories in 1935, 1953, 1962, 1977, 1990, 2003, 2008, and 2013. Unfortunately, only the data from 1977 to the present is currently easily accessible and available in full.
Restores 420 acres of high-quality forests at Itasca, Jay Cooke, Scenic, Forestville Mystery Cave and Wild River State Parks and Greenleaf Lake State Recreation Area.
Amphipods are wetland invertebrates that are critical wildlife food and indicators of water quality. We will assess reasons they are missing from Prairie Potholes and unique methods to restore amphipods.
Ecological restorations aim to aid the recovery of native ecosystems that have been degraded or lost. However, very seldom are restorations evaluated past the initial implementation phase to determine whether the efforts achieved their goals and the funds spent were a strategic conservation investment. Monitoring and evaluation of restorations can teach what works and what does not in order to advance restoration practices and increase the likelihood of success for future projects.
Ten .25-acre or larger resilient gardens throughout the metropolitan regional parks system will be planned, planted, and maintained involving stewardship volunteers, including underserved populations
By linking natural resource management, cultural heritage, and environmental education, we aim to restore an ecologically significant area of land while fostering multi-generational environmental stewardship and restoration of Indigenous culture.
Restoring native mussel assemblages can improve water quality and ecological health of rivers. Mussel filter water, purifying and improving water clarity by removing particles and contaminants like E. coli bacteria.
ABC will restore a minimum of 300 acres of deciduous forest in partnership with Aitkin, Beltrami and Cass Counties, utilizing science-based BMPs to rejuvenate non-commercial stands for focal wildlife species.
Restore native freshwater mussel assemblages in the Mississippi, Cedar, and Canon rivers to provide necessary ecosystem services, expand imperiled species populations, and inform the public on mussels and their conservation.
Citizens will be enlisted to field-test a new method of managing carp to restore an impaired lake. Water quality & cost-effectiveness will be quantified to inform statewide implementation.
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.
Overall Project Outcome and Results
The Restorable Wetlands Inventory (RWI) is a complement to the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) completed in late-1980s by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. An administrative decision was made developing the original NWI not to map wetland basins in Minnesota identified as completely drained. The number and acreage of completely drained wetlands that were not mapped by the NWI process is significant.
Overall Project Outcome and Results
The Green Corridor Legacy Program will provide Minnesotans public access to high quality game and wildlife habitat through a multi-year land acquisition plan.
This project consists of the design and construction of Phase 3 of the Rocori Trail along the old BNSF rail corridor and will connect Cold Spring, Richmond and Rockville.
Sandhill cranes have expanded their range in Minnesota and elsewhere and as populations have expanded several states, including Minnesota, have initiated sandhill crane hunting seasons and other states are considering doing the same. Partially this is in response to increasing complaints of crop degradation by sandhill cranes.
Lions Park improvements. Park is located on the rapids area of the Mississippi River. Enhance interaction with the river regionally with access points in this park.
This project consists of habitat restoration, water quality and fish passage improvements through the removal of the existing fixed elevation dam, construction of rock arch rapids and in-stream habitat restoration.
