All Projects

The proposal was to accelerate the protection of 1,220 acres of prairie grassland, wetland, and other wildlife habitat as State Wildlife Management Areas open to public hunting. Over the course of the appropriation, we acquired 11 parcels for a total of 1,484.05 acres which exceeded our total acre goal of 1,220 acres by 264.05 acres.  Breaking down acres by ecological section we acquired 876 acres in the metro, 152 acres in the forest/prairie, and 456 acres in the prairie.  We have a balance of $52,798 that will be returned to the Fund despite exceeding our acre goals.

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.

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.

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

Through fee-title acquisition, the Trust for Public Land permanently protected 242 acres (88% of our goal) in the Cannon River Watershed. This resulted in one new Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) and four additions to existing WMAs. Now publicly accessible, these protected areas include wetland, prairie, and "Big Woods" forest habitat. The permanent preservation of these places has reversed habitat loss, allowed for habitat restoration, and increased access to public lands for hunting, fishing, hiking, and other outdoor recreation opportunities.

The Children's Discovery Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota aims to strengthen its highly successful School Service Program by retaining a Program development coordinator, changing core interactive exhibits and creating new curriculum for pre-school and K - 5 students in ten northern Minnesota counties.

With the ML 2015 appropriation The Conservation Partners Legacy (CPL) Grant Program awarded 70 grants, 22 of these grants were the metropolitan area. Over 24,000 acres were enhanced, 2,500 acres were restored, and 386 acres protected through these 70 projects. Thirty-eight counties had CPL projects completed in them through 47 unique organizations. The average project for the ML 2015 grants was $96,000, with few exceptions most projects were completed on time and many were under budget.

Terrestrial invasive plants such as buckthorn, wild parsnip, garlic mustard, and others are becoming widespread threats throughout many sites in Minnesota. Present chemical and mechanical control methods tend to be costly, effective only in the short-term, or have other negative environmental impacts. However, an alternative practice of using grazing animals for invasive species management is used successfully in many parts of the western United States.

DNR completed nine stream habitat projects with this appropriation. Four fish passage projects opened up access to 180 miles of river and 13,521 acres of lake and wetland habitat. We enhanced habitat on 39 Aquatic Management Areas, totalling 1440 acres, through the efforts of four positions funded by this appropriation. It also funded two stream habitat positions that oversaw the completion of 23 DNR projects and over 50 partner-lead projects funded by various OHF sources.

Work resulting from this appropriation resulted in the acquisition, development, and inclusion of 2,095 acres into the state Wildlife Management Area (WMA) system, 74 acres into the the state Scientific and Natural Area system, and through easement acquisition added 387 acres to the state Native Prairie Bank.

We will use a programmatic approach to achieve prioritized aquatic habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement of lakes and streams across all the LSOHC planning regions of Minnesota.

This project replaced bridge #4 on the Douglas State Trail. A grant from the Federal Recreation Trail Program contributed funding towards this project, and leveraged the Legacy funding.

Building on the exhibit development community engagement process carried through three successive Legacy grants, the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota used the 2013 direct appropriation to prepare for and begin building exhibit components for its permanent facility by combining professional museum expertise with local resources, volunteers, and community involvement.

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.

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.

To strengthen a large partnership, including American Indian partners, as they improve and make available more historic information about the Minnesota River Valley.

With this appropriation, the Minnesota Land Trust plans to protect 100 acres of high quality forest, prairie, wetland, or shoreline habitat 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 Chisago, Goodhue, Hennepin, Isanti, and Washington counties.

The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Trust is using this appropriation to purchase a total of approximately 100 acres of land and donated to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Many benefits are anticipated from this project, including improved habitat connectivity, protection of native species, improved water quality in the Minnesota River, and increased public access to natural lands for activities such as hiking, hunting, and fishing. Restoration and management plans will be completed for all acquired lands.

Minnesota Trout Unlimited enhanced in-stream and riparian habitat for trout and other wildlife along more than 11 miles of coldwater streams across the state.  We far exceeded our original targets, enhancing habitat on 135 acres rather than 78.  We completed 16 separate stream habitat projects. Leveraging other funding and efficiently contracting projects allowed us to add habitat projects and adjust to changing conditions. 

Arts and Cultural Heritage funding will allow us to pursue three major initiatives between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016: 1) Offer special exhibits and programs promoting creative and critical thinking in our main museum in St. Paul; 2) A Pop-up satellite Museum at the Mall of America featuring four changing exhibits to attract thousands of new visitors; and 3) Changing exhibits and access at Minnesota Children’s Museum-Rochester to ensure inclusive family experiences for the Rochester community. Recipient:

The Children’s Discovery Museum (CDM) continued aggressive School Service Program (SSP) enrollment strategies to reach the seven new counties of Becker, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Todd, and Wadena. A new Wizard of Oz exhibit was mounted in time for the 75th Anniversary Celebration, June 10-14, 2014.

Ducks Unlimited purchased a total of 567 acres in 11 separate parcels in the Prairie Section for the state of Minnesota, including 135 acres of wetlands and 432 acres of uplands.  All 11 parcels have been restored and transferred to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for inclusion in state Wildlife Management Areas, are open to public access, and managed for wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation.  This prairie conservation work contributes to the goals of the Minnesota Prairie Conservation Plan, the Governor's Pheasant Action Plan, Minnesota's Long-range Duck Recovery

Ducks Unlimited successfully completed this Phase 4 our land acquisition/restoration program to protect shallow lakes and restore wetlands by purchasing and restoring 1,004 acres of land with drained wetlands and land on shallow lakes as additions to state Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) for the MNDNR throughout southern Minnesota.