U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE RELEASES FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ON NORTHERN TALLGRASS PRAIRIE HABITAT PRESERVATION AREA

You are viewing ARCHIVED content published online before January 20, 2025. Please note that this content is NOT UPDATED, and links may not work. Additionally, any previously issued diversity, equity, inclusion or gender-related guidance on this webpage should be considered rescinded. For current information, visit our newsroom.
Press Release
U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE RELEASES FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ON NORTHERN TALLGRASS PRAIRIE HABITAT PRESERVATION AREA
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) today released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) evaluating the establishment of a Northern Tallgrass Prairie Habitat Preservation Area in western Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. The goal of the project is to permanently preserve remnant tracts of northern tallgrass prairie in Minnesota and Iowa through the voluntary cooperation of landowners, conservation groups, and local governmental entities.

America’s native grasslands are a vanishing ecosystem, and mounting evidence indicates many species are disappearing as fast as the prairie habitat on which they depend. Few other ecosystem types have experienced such a large degree of loss and alteration. In Minnesota and Iowa, the native northern tallgrass prairie has declined to less than one percent of its original 25 million acres.

Through an integrated ecosystem approach, the Service, with its partners, proposes to protect fish and wildlife habitats by using a wide variety of tools and techniques. The Service proposes to participate in public and private partnerships at many levels, complementing other existing prairie projects such as those of the Iowa County Conservation Boards, the Iowa and Minnesota Departments of Natural Resources, and the Nature Conservancy.

Three alternatives, including a “No Action” alternative are included in the FEIS. The action alternatives are aimed at permanently protecting and enhancing prairie remnants.

Alternative “B”, the Service’s preferred alternative, would permanently protect and enhance prairie remnants through partnerships, incentives, education, and cooperative agreements. Service acquisition of easements and fee interest in lands would only be pursued on a voluntary basis from willing sellers. Any conservation easements, or acquisition of full title would be done by the Service and Service Partners.

A decision on which alternative listed in the FEIS to adopt will be made after a 30-day waiting period. For more information, contact Jane West, Project Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, BHW Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, MN 55111.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov

Press Release

Published

Latest Press Releases