Wetlands Review and Conservation Program

Doug Norris, Wetlands Program Coordinator
doug.norris@dnr.state.mn.us
500 Lafayette Rd Box 25
St Paul, MN 55155-4025
tel. (651) 259-5125

The Ecological Resources Division Wetlands Program was initiated with the passage of the state Wetlands Conservation Act of 1991. A key component of these regulations is the development of restored or created wetlands as replacement for wetlands that are drained or filled. The DNR's Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) has considerable expertise with wetland mitigation and management and, as part of the Department's overall responsibility for managing the state's fish, wildlife and native plant resources, there is an interest in seeing that wetland impacts are properly regulated and that replacement wetlands are properly developed.

The wetland coordinator position was established in Ecological Resources to:

• coordinate the DFW's review of wetland replacement plans;
• provide technical assistance to local governments and landowners in developing wetland mitigation;
• promote wetland conservation by providing science-based recommendations in the development of state wetland regulations, programs and policies.

The Wetlands Program is also responsible for the development of a statewide comprehensive wetlands management plan. Completed in 1998 following three years of work with a 32-member Work Team, the Minnesota Wetlands Conservation Plan (V. 1.0, 1997) (PDF/624kb) sets directions for managing and regulating the state's wetlands and examines way to consolidate the many different existing wetland programs to achieve maximum efficiency. The planning project was a largely voluntary initiative sponsored by the Minnesota Departments of Natural Resources, Transportation, and Agriculture; the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; and the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources. The Plan was created by a diverse group of local government staff, farmers and other business interests, environmental advocates, and agency staff. The Plan was funded by a planning grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under its State Wetland Protection Planning Development Grant Program (Clean Water Act Section 104), and matching funds contributed by the sponsoring state agencies.

The products from the Wetlands Planning Project include the Minnesota Wetlands Conservation Plan, the Minnesota Wetland Mitigation Banking Study, the Action Planning Workbook, a Memorandum of Agreement for Implementation of the Minnesota Wetlands Conservation Plan and Wetland Guidance for the Anoka Sandplain. (Find these on the wetlands publications page.)

In 2006, a group of state and federal agencies collaboratively developed, "A Comprehensive Wetland Assessment, Monitoring, and Mapping Strategy for Minnesota" (2.9 MB) . The goal of this effort was to develop a scientifically sound strategy for monitoring and assessing status and trends in wetland quantity and quality statewide. The Ecological Resources' Wetlands Program oversees one component of the overall strategy, a random sample survey designed to provide an ongoing assessment of the gain and loss of wetland acres in Minnesota. Initiated in the spring of 2006, this project involves the periodic acquisition and interpretation of aerial photography on nearly 5,000 permanent sample plots scattered around the state. Wetland gain and loss will be determined by comparing subsequent photos of each sample plot using GIS technology. The aerial photography and photo interpretation is being conducted by the DNR Resource Assessment Program in Grand Rapids.