Project Background
The Habitat Base
Minnesota has a diversity of major land forms and habitat types as a result of glacial
action and geological changes that have occurred since the ice age. These landscape
features have been classified by their geological, biological, hydrological, and
ecological characteristics into physiographic regions and ecoregions to reflect
their basic natural resource values. All of these landscapes provide important habitats
for the fish, wildlife and plant resources of the state. Throughout the years specific
segments have served as important fish and wildfire corridors that have sustained
populations and enhanced migration between core areas of various habitat types.
During recent years, however, many of these core areas and related land and water
corridors have deteriorated in quality and have become fragmented and disconnected.
As a result, fish and wildlife populations and many plant species continue to change.
These changes have had an adverse effect on this natural resource base that is so
important to the recreational activities that support a wide array of public and
private interests throughout Minnesota.
The Proposal
The general concept of focusing conservation efforts in geographic areas with the
greatest need and opportunity is intuitively attractive. Applying this approach
to the problem of habitat fragmentation makes sense to most conservationists. It
was this approach that formed the basis for the project proposal Restoring Minnesota’s
Fish and Wildlife Habitat Corridors submitted to the Legislative Commission on Minnesota
Resources (LCMR) in 2000. It was heralded as a fresh approach to bringing together
conservation partners, differing restoration and protection strategies, and consolidated
funding to a new level of coordination. Even before the project was officially approved,
members of LCMR wanted to know more about where the corridors would be and what
kinds of activities would be funded.
In response, a group of partners led by the Minnesota Waterfowl Association and
in consult with the Citizens Advisory Committee to the LCMR was convened to identify
target areas, or “corridors”, to form the backbone of the proposal. The complexity
of the issue became immediately apparent. The state of Minnesota is highly variable
in terms of natural resources, threats to these resources, loss of the resources,
potential for protection and restoration, and the agencies and nongovernmental organizations
committed to sound resource management.
The first step was to apply a geographic information system (GIS) to map important
aspects of the existing resource base. The basic elements were forests, grasslands,
water, and land use. Data layers included mapped information from state and federal
agencies. Examples included: Wildlife Management Areas, RIM easements, the Minnesota
Natural Heritage Database, rivers, and shallow lakes.
More information about important resources areas was gathered through regional meetings
with Department of Natural Resources and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service field staff
throughout the state. The information was further refined through meetings with
individual partners. The meetings with partners also served to identify information
related to partner specific priorities and restrictions.
The three basic geographic concepts created through these meetings were: Spatial
Corridors, Linear Corridors and Project Areas.
Project Areas: These areas were the actual areas identified for
focusing projects within the LCMR proposal and work plans. Project areas included
spatial and linear corridors but were modified by political, cultural, and practical
considerations. While the two types of corridors were driven primarily by natural
resource considerations, the project areas were driven by organization resource
considerations. There were spirited discussions concerning the appropriate size
and configuration of the project areas as they were identified on maps. Some partners
wanted to limit the size of the areas in order to concentrate project dollars in
specific areas of high priority to their organization. Others favored larger areas
to allow flexibility in identification of projects for funding and completion.
Meetings were held with the 14 Restoring Minnesota’s Fish and Wildlife Corridors
Project Partners to determine which spatial or linear corridors in the State projects
will be performed for the LCMR grant. Each Project Partner selected a combination
of 3 linear and/or 3 spatial corridors throughout the State where they will perform
restoration & management programs, conservation easement programs, or habitat acquisition
programs for the grant. Those corridors that were selected became the boundaries
for the Corridor Project Areas theme. Community GIS Services then on-screen digitized
the polygons.
In the end, eleven project areas were identified that sought to balance opportunities
for all the partners while focusing the habitat protection and restoration efforts
on key areas of Minnesota. Phase I of the Minnesota Habitat Conservation Partnership
completed work within the eleven identified project areas. In Phase II, only minor
changes were made to the some project areas.
Spatial corridors: Spatial corridors are broad areas that include
resources of interest to the partners. An example is the headwaters of the Minnesota
River valley. This area includes a relative abundance of wetlands and native prairie
as well as major state and federal management areas. Meetings were held at Community
GIS Services offices with resource managers from MN DNR wildlife and the Minnesota
Waterfowl Association Staff. At these meetings, corridor delineations were on-screen
digitized based upon the spatial corridor criteria including: 1) Clusters of shallow
lakes that provide important production and migration benefits to waterfowl, 2)
Concentrations of 500 acre of larger shallow lakes that provide greater security
and resources , areas of historical significance to waterfowl, other migratory birds,
and wetland wildlife, 3) Relationships to high density waterfowl production areas
4) Recommendations of resource managers and project partners. The associated data
and spatial corridors were printed on large format paper and brought to project
partner meetings and resource manager meetings with USFWS and MN DNR wildlife staff
where corrections and additions were made. The spatial corridors were then clipped
to project areas.
Linear Corridors: Linear corridors are relatively narrow bands
of resources that generally follow distinct geologic features or river corridors
and often occurred within one or more spatial corridors. An example is the riparian
area along the Cannon River in southeastern Minnesota. Meetings were held at each
MN DNR Regional Office throughout the state where approximately 35-40 maps with
mylar overlays containing the information listed below was presented to resource
managers from MN DNR wildlife, forestry and fisheries staff. At these meetings corridor
delineations were made on mylar overlays that contained important habitat and protected
land linkages by the resource managers. The maps and mylar overlays were brought
back to the Community GIS Services offices. There, with the oversight of Corridors
Partners, linear corridors were delineated either based upon ArcView Shapefile buffers
of rivers/streams or by selecting groups of sections from the MN DNR Section Level
Public Land Survey and creating ArcView Shapefiles. These ArcView Shapefiles of
linear corridors ere merged in ArcView and clipped to the 11 project area polygons.
Goals and Objectives
The goal of this project is to reestablish a network of statewide corridors that
connect core units of high quality habitat for the purpose of sustaining fish and
wildlife populations, enhancing migration and survival, permitting greater genetic
interchange, and restoring the integrity of natural communities that are sustainable
with human activities. Priority is given to maintaining core areas and restoring
the gaps that have developed through habitat fragmentation, thus reconnecting the
important habitat segments remaining as to establish continuous corridors.
The principle objectives are to:
- Permit unobstructed movement of fish and wildlife between secure core unites of
habitat that will assure reproduction and survival.
- Provide multiple benefits for water quality, flood control and erosion control.
- Provide for compatible public and private recreational uses.
- Include adequate incentives to encourage participation by private landowners.
- Develop and implement cooperative programs based on joint venture and partnership
concepts, so that combined efforts can be directed at priority “project areas”.
- Develop an information base to guide project implementation, and an education program
to increase public awareness of the long-term significance of this project.
Implementation
Existing federal and state lands provide the foundation for this project, especially
as core areas. Present federal, state, and private land and water conservation programs
will serve as vehicles for habitat preservation and restoration. Many of these programs
provide incentives for conservation practices on private lands, including fish and
wildlife benefits; whiles others benefit private and public lands. Some of these
programs have identified core habitat units and delineated important linkages that
are required for reestablishment of fish and wildlife corridors.
This project provides a new coordination mechanism for accomplishing stated goals
and objectives. This approach serves as a model of interagency and private organization
cooperation for addressing important fish and wildlife habitat issues in the 21st
century. Based on proven concepts of joint ventures, partnerships and matching grant
funding arrangements, habitat preservation and management are being accomplished
in a more cost-effective manner.
The project partners are committed to the development and management of a system
of fish and wildlife habitat corridors that will maximize overall resource values.