Wildlife Management Area Acquisition
This program acquired, developed, and added 638 acres to the state Wildlife Management Area (WMA) system. These lands protect habitat and provide opportunities for public hunting, trapping and compatible outdoor uses consistent with the Outdoor Recreation Act (M.S. 86A.05, Subd.8).
Through this program and appropriation the MN DNR protected lands in the prairie, forest prairie transition, northern forest, and metro urbanizing ecological sections. The MN DNR prioritized our acquisitions to focus on parcels with an existing habitat base, acquisition opportunities that provided connectivity and worked toward building habitat complexes, and opportunities that allowed us to maximize habitat benefits. All potential acquisitions were brought forth by willing sellers. We scored and ranked them on numerous ecological and management criteria. All acquisitions received formal county board review and approval. Nine Parcels totaling nearly 640 acres are now permanently protected as a result of acquisitions funded by this program. We fell just shy of our our AP goals for prairie (8 acres) and forest (4 acres) protection. We would have easily exceeded AP goals save for four acquisition attempts that were started but for various reasons failed.
$2,900,000 in the second year is to the commissioner of natural resources to acquire land in fee for wildlife management area purposes under Minnesota Statutes, section 86A.05, subdivision 8. A list of proposed land acquisitions must be provided as part of the required accomplishment plan.
Protect in Fee 284 acres of prairies and 356 acres of forest