This proposal will accomplish shallow lake and wetland habitat work that will otherwise go unfunded. This work is called for in the Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan, Long Range Duck Recovery Plan, and Shallow Lakes plan.
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 of WMA acquisition protected 1,102 acres of prairie grassland, wetland, and other wildlife habitat as State Wildlife Management Areas open to public hunting. With these 5 acquisition we have exceeded our planned acres of 680 by more than 400 acres. All of the acquired properties had wildlife habitat restored to the highest quality possible.
Protect and restore approximately 80 acres in and near the Cannon River watershed, including wetlands, prairies, Big Woods forest, and river and shallow lake shoreline to reverse habitat loss, improve watershed function and provide access.
The Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program will be managed by the Department of Natural Resources to provide competitive matching grants of up to $400,000 to local, regional, state, and national non-profit organizations and government entities.
We restored 2,081 acres of grassland and enhanced 42,425 acres of grassland for a total of 44,506 acres of wildlife habitat across 329 sites with these funds.
Work resulting from this appropriation resulted in the acquisition, development, and inclusion of 662 acres into the state Wildlife Management Area (WMA) system by way of five acquisitions. The acres acquired exceeded the accomplishment plan goals of 600 acres, and spent 97% of the budget. The acquired acres compliment the WMA program by adding habitat function and natural resource ecosystem services. One of the acquisitions also leveraged $300,000 in federal funding.
The Minnesota DNR and the Minnesota Forest Resources Council work with forest landowners, managers and loggers to implement a set of voluntary sustainable forest management guidelines that include water quality best management practices (BMPs) to ensure sustainable habitat, clean water, and productive forest soils, all contributing to healthy watersheds. This project will monitor the implementation of these forest management guidelines and BMPs on forested watersheds in MN.
Ducks Unlimited's Phase 5 land program will acquire and restore 600 acres of prairie land and wetlands for inclusion in state Wildlife Management Areas for Minnesota DNR, with focus on restorable prairie lands and wetlands, and land buffering shallow lakes.
