Waterfowl Identification Guide Comprehensive Conservation Plan Phone: 218-8474431 |
The Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Act (The Duck Stamp Act), passed in 1934, was amended by Congress in 1958 to authorize acquisition of wetlands as Waterfowl Production Areas. Thus began one of the most aggressive acquisition campaigns in history; a race against prairie conversion, drainage tile and ditches. This act authorizes the purchase of lands using the revenue from the sale of Federal Duck Stamps for the purpose of improving the production of migratory birds, especially waterfowl. Under this program both fee title (public) lands and easements are purchased to protect migratory bird habitat.
Waterfowl Production Area in Clay County, Minnesota.
Note new wetland restorations in foreground, and loss of wetlands surrounding the WPA border.
Photo credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Waterfowl Production Areas
Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) are the Prairie Jewels of the National Wildlife Refuge System. These public lands, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and purchased with Federal Duck Stamp revenue, preserve wetlands and grasslands critical to waterfowl and other wildlife. Prairie wetlands, or "potholes," are the lifeline for fish and wildlife of the entire prairie landscape from the Rockies to Wisconsin. If the wetlands and associated prairie in this vast Prairie Pothole Region were not saved from plowing, development, and drainage, hundreds of species of migratory birds would literally have gone down the drain. While many National Wildlife Refuges are individually larger in size, WPAs are large in their scope. WPAs are "mini National Wildlife Refuges," ranging in size from as little as 10 acres to nearly 2,000 acres. WPAs are dispersed across this large geographic region, and the purchase of WPAs is a critically important strategy to achieve the necessary long-term landscape conservation of these unique habitats. More than 3,000 WPAs have been purchased since 1958 when Congress authorized the use of Duck Stamp monies for purchasing small wetlands.
Waterfowl Production Area in northwest Becker County, Minnesota.
WPAs protect a large portion of the remaining tallgrass prairie found in the Midwest.
This WPA contains 1,373 acres of virgin prairie with grasses over 6 feet tall and stunning wildflowers.
Photo credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge
In 1999, the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge was established in western Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. The refuge has a goal to preserve 77,000 acres of native prairie and buffer lands adjacent to those prairies. The establishing legislation of this refuge allows native prairie tracts that have never been broken by the plow to be purchased from willing sellers in fee title or to be protected by perpetual easements (like the habitat easement outlined above). Tracts in 48 counties in western Minnesota and 37 counties in northwestern Iowa can be part of this refuge.
Many specialist species like the greater prairie chicken, chestnut-collared longspur, marbled godwit, and Dakota skipper butterfly rely on these intact tracts of native prairie to survive. If any of these options to protect your land and provide habitat for migratory birds and prairie specialists sound appealing to you, please contact the Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District for more information about these programs. |
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