Camp Ripley Partnership, Phase IV

The purpose of this initiative was to protect fish, migratory birds, big game, and oak habitat along the Crow Wing, Gull, Nokasippi, and Mississippi Rivers via conservation easements. These river corridors are very vulnerable to habitat degradation due to the potential for development. The Camp Ripley military training center is located immediately adjacent to the confluence of the Crow Wing and Mississippi Rivers. Camp Ripley contains 19 miles of Mississippi River frontage and 8 miles of Crow Wing River frontage that provide habitat for many species including 45 Species of Greatest Conservation Need. This project built upon past Camp Ripley partnership success with the Army Compatible Use Buffer program (ACUB). This federal program provided funds to protect adjacent lands from encroaching development and in the process protects the training center, water quality and wildlife habitat. Fifteen easements were secured totaling 946 acres which was 130% over our gaol of 720 acres. The largest easement was 278 acres with two others that were approximately 100 acres. The average easement size was 63 acres. These parcels are primarily forested with some wetlands. As of this writing the ACUB program has protected over 25,000 acres through conservation easements and fee title including 204 RIM easements totaling over 22,000 acres. In 2014 alone BWSR leveraged $1,000,000 in National Guard Bureau and Department of Army ACUB funds for easement acquisition. As of this writing, during the life of the ACUB program, over $33,000,000 from National Guard Bureau and Department of Army funds have been directed to BWSR for easement acquisition. 

Camp Ripley is home to one of the southern-most wolf populations in Minnesota and 65 species of Greatest Conservation Need including the state’s highest population of red shouldered hawks. Red-shouldered Hawks are forest dependent species and the parcels protected in this grant help to ensure that a viable population remains in the Camp Ripley area. Likewise, wolves in Minnesota, are primarily forest species and need rather large areas to maintain pack integrity and reduce competition with neighboring packs and humans. Again, these parcels help to protect this species.      

This project utilized Camp Ripley’s partnerships with the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), MN Department of Natural Resources (DNR),The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Morrison Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to solicit applications and to score and rank applications. The partnership uses a variety of methods to generate landowner interest and solicit applications including; mailings, open houses, direct contact with landowners and special Camp Ripley events. Applications are sorted into agricultural easements (Non-OHF) and riparian and forested lands easements (OHF). They are then scored and ranked against a GIS based system that ranks parcels based upon a number of factors including habitat quality and proximity to Camp Ripley. Applications are then funded in priority order from appropriate funding sources until all funds are used up. The application process is continuous and there is generally a considerable backlog of interested landowners at any specific point in time. Once a funding decision has been made Morrison SWCD and BWSR work together to accomplish the standard RIM easement acquisition process and the easement becomes part of the RIM portfolio.