Minnesota Valley Wetland Management District

Minnesota Valley Wetland Management District, established in 1988, is a 14-county district located in the transition zone between northern tallgrass prairie and eastern deciduous forest. The district manages more than 10,000 acres of land dedicated to wildlife and wildlife-dependent recreation, including more than 30 waterfowl production areas and more than 50 easements. Each of these relatively small areas – often only a couple of hundred acres – is critically important to migrating, breeding and nesting waterfowl. They also provide habitat for grassland birds, such as meadowlark and bobolink, and a variety of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and other wildlife.

Waterfowl production areas were created by an amendment to the Federal Duck Stamp Act in 1958. Scientists realized that these small pockets of habitat were vital to breeding waterfowl. This amendment gave the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permission to purchase small wetlands. Federal Duck Stamps are a vital tool for wetland conservation. Ninety-eight cents out of every dollar generated by the sales of Federal Duck Stamps goes directly to purchase or lease wetland habitat for protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Understandably, the Federal Duck Stamp Program has been called one of the most successful conservation programs ever initiated and is a highly effective way to conserve America’s natural resources.