Wetlands for Wildlife

Across western Minnesota, greater than 99% of wetlands have been drained. One only needs to fly over the area or look at aerial photos to see how radically we have changed the hydrology of this landscape. This has had two effects. First, wetland drainage has removed hundreds of thousands of acres of nesting and brood rearing habitat for waterfowl and other grassland gamebirds and songbirds. Second, instead of holding water in the watershed in those wetlands, the water flushes into our river systems. The Red River Valley has faced massive floods and flood damage each of the last three years. While this project won't prevent flooding, any water held in the watershed is water that isn't in the Red River during flood season. This work uses the best conservation science to strategically restore wetlands on the landscape to increase waterfowl populations.