Mixed Hardwood/Conifer Restoration #2

A collaborative effort between state (MN DNR) and federal (USFWS) agencies and nonprofit conservation organizations (Woodcock MN and The Nature Conservancy) will enhance 50 acres of early successional habitat in the Minnesota River Valley. The project will test and demonstrate the ability of biomass markets to subsidize future public and private land management costs. The project will maintain a mosaic of habitats in the floodplain of the Minnesota River and will benefit game and nongame species like American woodcock, ring-necked pheasant, white-tailed deer, blue-winged warbler, willow flycatchers, and field sparrows. By maintaining dense forest cover the project will also reduce overland water flow to the river and improve groundwater infiltration.