Regional executives from two federal land management agencies met Tuesday (Feb. 15) at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in the Twin Cities to finalize an agreement between the agencies that will streamline the management of wetlands within the recently established Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Minnesota.
During a brief ceremony at the Refuge headquarters, Robyn Thorson, Midwest regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and Bill Hunt, state conservationist for the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), signed a formal delegation of authority that will allow the Service to manage 2,000 acres of wetlands within the Glacial Ridge refuge boundary that are currently enrolled in the NRCS Wetlands Reserve Program.
“ We believe this agreement is historic in the sense that this may be only the first or second instance that the NRCS has ceded management responsibility for WRP lands to another federal agency,” said Hunt. “We are sincerely pleased to transfer these tracts to an agency that is a true specialist in resource conservation.”
The Wetlands Reserve Program is a voluntary program sponsored by the U.S Department of Agriculture that offers landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. The NRCS provides technical and financial support to help landowners.
“ The superb relationships between the Service, the NRCS, the State of Minnesota and The Nature Conservancy make this significant agreement possible,” said Thorson. “It allows us to manage these important wetlands without case-by-case consent from the NRCS. In short, we cut through needless bureaucracy and put together a common sense agreement that benefits all concerned.”
“ The creation of the refuge was a daunting challenge for all involved and it’s great to be able to celebrate successes such as this,” said Gene Merriam, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “We’re excited about the prospects for future agreements such as this one.”
Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge was established in October 2004 and is the nation’s newest wildlife refuge. The refuge, located in Polk County near Crookston, Minnesota, will conserve, protect and restore 35,000 acres of wetlands and tallgrass prairie habitat. Over the last 30 years, much of the land within the refuge area has been drained or converted for agricultural purposes. One of the goals of this refuge is to restore up to 12,000 acres of wetlands and 14,000 acres of tallgrass prairie upland habitat. To date, the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) has provided funding to restore 13,000 acres of wetlands.
Of the 35,000 acres that will eventually make up the refuge, 24,140 acres are currently owned by The Nature Conservancy. The remaining acres are owned by private landowners and/or managed by the State of Minnesota.
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 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 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 Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
