Litchfield Wetland Management District Comprehensive Conservation Plan

Comprehensive Conservation Plan Completed
Litchfield Wetland Management District
Minnesota Wetland Management Districts
To Request a Copy
Where Are We in the Planning Process?

Comprehensive Conservation Plan Completed

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has completed Comprehensive Conservation Plans, or CCPs, for each of the six Wetland Management Districts of Minnesota. The Litchfield Wetland Management District CCP describes a future in which:

• The Service continues to acquire land to reach the goal acres agreed to by each County within the District.
• We will strive to preserve and maintain diversity and increase the abundance of waterfowl and other key wildlife species in the Northern Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem.
• We will restore wetlands and prairie as habitat for migratory waterfowl. Our intent will be to increase the block size of WPAs from an average of 210 acres to benefit waterfowl species as well as grassland birds.
• Working with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, we will reintroduce native species on WPAs.
• We will promote the use of coordinated, standardized, cost-effective and defensible methods for gathering and analyzing habitat and population data.
• We will allow limited continued use of food plots and feeder cribs to support resident wildlife, notably white-tailed deer and pheasants.
• We will work with other Districts in Minnesota as well as neighboring states (Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota and North Dakota) to develop more consistency in policies for habitat, public use and resource protection.
• We will promote greater understanding and awareness of the Wetland Management Districts’ programs, goals and objectives.

We appreciate the help of everyone who attended open houses, reviewed the draft plan or sent us a comment. Your help made the plans better.

Litchfield Wetland Management District

The Litchfield Wetland Management District manages 151 Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) totaling 34,332 acres in Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Renville, Stearns, Todd and Wright Counties in Minnesota. The District includes diverse native habitats, with native forest on the northeast to tallgrass prairie in the south and west with transition zone in between.

Minnesota Wetland Management Districts

Litchfield Wetland Management is one of the six Wetland Management Districts the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service manages in western Minnesota. The Wetland Management Districts of Minnesota are set in a landscape that was once a mosaic of prairie and wetlands -- a vital landscape for waterfowl. Six Wetland Management Districts -- Fergus Falls, Litchfield, Morris, Windom, Big Stone and Detroit Lakes -- provide a total 179,826 acres of habitat throughout western Minnesota. As of September 2002,the Service also administers perpetual easement agreements on 71,658 acres of wetlands. Wetlands that were once drained have been restored; on Waterfowl Production Areas, more than 4,000 wetland restorations have impounded in excess of 16,000 wetland acres.

Wetland Management Districts are administrative units that are responsible for buying, overseeing and managing Waterfowl Production Area land and easements within a given area. Most Districts are large, covering several counties. Waterfowl Production Areas are grasslands and wetlands that the Service purchases to provide nesting habitat for waterfowl and hunting areas for waterfowl and upland game hunters. Waterfowl Production Areas are typically small parcels scattered throughout agricultural areas.

To Request a Copy of the CCP

The CCP is available on this site in portable document format (pdf), and we can also provide it as a pdf document on a CD-ROM. Limited quantities of paper copies are available. To request either a CD-ROM or a paper copy, call the Wetland Management District at 320/693-2849. TTY users may reach the Wetland Management District through the Minnesota State Relay System by dialing 711 or (800)627-3529 (V/TTY)

Where Are We in the Planning Process?

These are the steps that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service follows in comprehensive conservation planning; the step that Litchfield WMD has reached is highlighted:

1. Preplanning: Plan the Plan
2. Initiate Public Involvement and Scoping
3. Review Vision Statement and Goals and Determine Significant Issues
4. Develop and Analyze Alternatives, Including the Proposed Action
5. Prepare a Draft CCP and NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) Document
6. Prepare and Adopt Final CCP
7. Implement Plan, Monitor and Evaluate
8. Review and Revise the Plan

Last updated: August 15, 2008

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