CRWA-Maple Basswood Restoration

Rice County Environmental Services, in partnership with Minnesota Conservation Corp and Friends of the Cannon River Wilderness Area seek to restore a 7 acre maple basswood forest located adjacent to the Cannon River Wilderness Area. The property, which is currently farmed in food plots, provides an estimated sediment erosion-loss of 6.15 tons/acre (per year). The proposed forest conversion will eliminate approximately 5.75 tons/acre (per year), reducing the estimated soil loss to 0.4 tons/acre (per year). The primary activities of this grant would reduce erosion, sediment and nutrient loading in the Cannon River (a Wild and Scenic River), reduce forest fragmentation, increase young forest acreage and block size, provide habitat for game and non-game species, and provide nesting and bedding cover, and forage for a variety of upland bird species, waterfowl, reptiles, and mammals.