Weaver Dunes Conservation Easement

The Nature Conservancy will acquire a permanent conservation easement on 80 acres adjacent to the Weaver Dunes Preserve/Scientific and Natural Area. The project will protect some remnant prairie and prevent development of a key parcel adjacent to 800 acres of native and restored prairie. Permanent protection will allow for the eventual restoration of sand prairie, increasing habitat in this ecologically significant area that includes Kellogg Weaver Dunes SNA, McCarthy Lake WMA and the Upper Mississippi National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. This site and the larger area is an important nesting area for Blanding's turtles, grassland nesting birds, wild turkeys, whitetail deer and an array of reptiles.