Thanks to the work of the Fund and its partners in Minnesota, more than 60,000 acres of forestland and open space across the state—including working forests and significant lands along the Mississippi River—will continue to provide important wildlife habitat, migration corridors, water quality, jobs and a wide variety of recreation opportunities.
We thank Minnesota voters for approving the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment to the Minnesota constitution during the November 4, 2008 election. This important measure will provide critical funding for the next 25 years, protecting clean water and wildlife habitat. Minnesotans will reap the return of this investment in conservation for generations to come. Visit this page again in the future for news of new conservation efforts —completed with your support.
Near the bustling Twin Cities, the Valley Creek watershed supports endangered wildlife, a reintroduced bison herd and one of the area’s healthiest trout streams. In 2008, in partnership with the Minnesota Land Trust, we helped the Belwin Conservancy protect 12 acres at Valley Creek’s headwaters—a key step in our larger effort to preserve area wildlife habitat and enhance water quality. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation provided key support for the project, as part of a three-year, $10 million environmental initiative to fulfill State Wildlife Action Plans across the Upper Midwest.
The Chippewa National Forest lies at the crossroads of Minnesota's three major ecosystems—prairie and both boreal and hardwood forests. As a result, the Chippewa has the highest breeding density of bald eagles in the lower 48 states and hosts a variety of other wildlife species such as threatened Canada lynx. The Fund teamed up with the U.S. Forest Service to acquire more than 60 acres of sensitive shoreline along three popular lakes in the national forest as well as an 80-acre island harboring old growth forests and bald eagle nests and situated on a popular recreational lake.
With lead funding from the McKnight Foundation, the Fund is conserving open space along the Mississippi River. The Fund worked with the Paul Bunyan Trail Association, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Parks and Trails Council to acquire 400 acres of Mississippi River-front land from Potlatch Corporation. The newly protected hardwood and pine forest links Crow Wing State Park with Paul Bunyan Trail, connects wildlife migration corridors and expands public lands for hiking, biking and birdwatching.
In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, the Fund is protecting a large block of working forest in Lake County. Located at the headwaters of the Manitou and Baptism Rivers—primary tributaries to Lake Superior - the 6,000-acre Manitou Forest project is the largest working forest conservation easement in the state. Home to timber wolves and moose, the Manitou property contains old-growth hardwood forests, lowland conifers, inline lakes and headwater streams. The property is almost completely surrounded by public lands and a signature preserve of old growth forest owned by The Nature Conservancy.
At the Fund we help save wild havens: large, natural spaces for wildlife to be exactly that—wild. Your gift ensures that wildlife, like this bear cub, has the habitat it needs to thrive.
Peg Kohring, director of the Fund's work in the Midwest, is based in Michigan. She works with community leaders across the region. "We’re the tools in the hands of communities, helping to make conservation happen.”
Powered by: Phase2 TechnologyThe Conservation Fund National Office
1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300
Arlington, Virginia 22209-2156
Phone: 703-525-6300
Fax: 703-525-4610
Email: postmaster@conservationfund.org
