Wildlife Management Areas: What, Where, Why

Wildlife management areas (WMAs) are part of Minnesota's outdoor recreation system and are established to protect those lands and waters that have a high potential for wildlife habitat and other compatible recreational uses. WMAs are key to:

  • protecting wildlife habitat for future generations,
  • providing citizens with opportunities for hunting, fishing and wildlife watching, and
  • promoting important wildlife-based tourism in the state.

How did WMAs get started?
Minnesota's WMA system started in 1951, when the State established its "Save the Wetlands" program to buy wetlands and other habitats from willing sellers to address the alarming loss of wildlife habitat in the state. Initiated by a handful of visionary wildlife managers, the WMA program evolved into the present-day system of WMAs.

How many WMAs are there and where are they located?
There are over 1.3 million acres of high quality habitat in about 1,500 WMAs located throughout the state, making it one of the best and largest WMA systems in the country.

How are WMAs managed?
WMAs are the backbone of DNR's wildlife management efforts in Minnesota. Much of the wildlife managers' work is directed toward protecting and enhancing wildlife habitat on WMA lands. For instance, prairie and grasslands are planted, wetlands are restored and enhanced. Prescribed burning is done to maintain grasslands, prairies, and brush lands. Forest openings and regeneration projects benefit create wildlife habitat. Different management practices are utilized for different ecotypes.

What can I do to help?
There are opportunities to volunteer at WMAs by picking up trash to assisting with seed collection and much more! For more information and locations of WMAs go to this link https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/wmas/index.html.

For more information contact Becky Wozny, Wetland Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

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Do I Make a Difference?

Recently, I have seen some pushback from folks who say that asking the general public to recycle, conserve water, reduce their carbon footprint, etc. is inconsequential compared to commercial impacts and thus misguided. The consensus that corporations and governments have an outsized influence on these environmental impacts and private citizens contributions to the problem don't matter. Here are two articles in the Scientific American or The Atlantic, that discuss this issue in more detail.

Though I don't disagree that commercial/agricultural uses oftentimes outweigh residential uses (e.g. pesticide and fertilizer application); I also believe that if enough people adopt enough measures we can make a difference in a twofold manner. One, we will be more aware of how corporations operate and through purchasing power and/or legislation create changes that benefit the resource. Check out this awesome resource developed by USGS and learn more about water use in your local area. 

In another case, because of both residential and commercial changes in habits; we have actually reduced water usage dramatically in the last 3 decades. We should celebrate this because clean water is not infinite. There are still issues surrounding water quantity (and quality) and we can never sit on our laurels but we can make a difference one drippy faucet at a time. For more information contact Becky Wozney, Wetland Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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Insects Are Important Because of Their Diversity

Spring is finally here and with that comes lots of critters-- including insects! Oftentimes, insects have a negative connotation for people, but many (if not most) actually have an important role in our world. Instead of reaching for the nearest spray can of pesticide anytime you see something munching on your flowers, first determine if it actually is a pest or not! One of the easiest ways to do this is to download apps that help you identify items in the natural world. One that I really like and can be used for plants as well is the iNaturalist app, available for free! It allows you to narrow down to a few possibilities and is quite accurate.

This male twelve-spotted skimmer is a dragonfly that is fast and will guard its territory. Its larvae will eat mosquitos before they hatch.
Japanese beetles are a non-native, invasive beetle. Once they are adults, spraying pesticides is ineffective.

That scary bug could actually be a beneficial "good bug" that eats problem pests. Accept a little damage and give nature time to work. Accept a few pests, as long as they are not harmful to the long-term effects of the landscape. Natural predators often bring pests under control, but they need time to work. Monitor your landscape to spot signs of pests, but don't spray at the first sign of damage — nature may control it for you or plants may outgrow the damage. If a pest or weed problem develops, use an integrated approach to solve the problem. Physical controls like traps, barriers, fabric row covers or plants that repel pests can work for some pests.

A holistic approach can be an effective tools for controlling pests such as insects, weeds, and diseases. Be sure you need a pesticide before you use it. Ongoing pest problems are often a sign that your lawn or garden is not getting what it needs to stay healthy. You need to correct the underlying problem to reduce the chance of pests reappearing. Remember, a holistic — or integrated pest management — approach is the most effective way to manage pests.

A longhorn beetle on an upright yellow coneflower. Note the pollen that it is eating.
Start with prevention.

  • Mow higher. Most grasses should be mowed to a height of two to three inches. Taller grass has more leaf surface and deeper roots and eventually chokes out many weeds.
  • Clean out diseased plants so disease doesn't spread.
  • Pull weeds before they go to seed and spread.
  • Identify the problem before you spray, squash or stomp (see paragraph above on ID). Whether it's a bug, disease or weed, you need to identify it to know how to effectively manage it. Carefully read and follow pesticide product label instructions. Avoid overuse of pesticides. When you have a small problem area, treat just that area, not the entire yard. Remember, most bugs are good bugs. Only about 5– 15 percent of the bugs in your yard are pests.

For more information and amazing photos go to the following link: Those Other Flower Visitors | The Prairie Ecologist 

Eastern bluebirds benefit from less pesticide use and will feed their nestlings with the caterpillars that feed on your shrubs and trees.
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Wetland Restoration in Anoka County

The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) is seeking to restore previously drained or filled wetlands and adjacent uplands to develop wetland credits for the Local Government Road Wetland Replacement Program (LGRWRP). This program provides wetland mitigation for qualifying road construction, repair, and rehabilitation projects conducted by local road authorities such as cities, townships, and counties.

Opportunities are available for landowners and local government entities in throughout the state including Anoka County.

Restoration opportunities include:

  1. BWSR easement signup which operates the same as Reinvest In Minnesota (RIM) and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)
  2. Credit development and sale to BWSR through a third party
  3. Credit development in partnership with BWSR

The difficult part of this program was that BWSR wanted projects that were relatively far along in the process since wetland banking starting from scratch is a 4 to 5 year endeavor for the first credits to be established. The funds they were using had a 3 year deadline for completion.

At first, we did not think we had any projects far enough along, but then I reached out to a landowner in Oak Grove who had a significant portion of his proposal completed so we are hoping that this is a good fit for the BWSR program. This project north of 221st Ave NW would restore over 60 acres of wetland that have been drained for decades for farming. It is in the headwaters of Lake George.

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Christmas Tree Care and Fun Facts

Ever since I was a young girl, my family has had a 'real' tree. Our trees were cut from our farm and some were 'Charlie Brown' trees but I have great memories of going out into the woods.

With my own family, we have a tradition of going to our local Christmas tree farm. It's definitely a memory-making experience and my girls always enjoy marching down the rows of firs, spruce, and eventually a white pine, which also happens to be my favorite conifer. I even manage to teach the girls a thing or two about how to identify the different species.

Why buy a real tree vs. a manufactured one?

  • An acre of Christmas trees can remove 8,000 pounds of carbon from the atmosphere.
  • Are biodegradable and recyclable (into mulch).
  • Provide more than a holiday decoration:
    • Habitat and shelter for birds and small animals.
    • Shade and cool the soil.
    • Help prevent erosion.
    • Provide year-round beauty in our Minnesota landscape.
    • Buying locally gives us a fresh tree and supports local businesses. Here's a list of local tree farms from the MN Christmas Tree Association: https://mncta.com/choose-cut if you don't have a favorite already.


Christmas Tree Care

Make a fresh cut. Before you bring the tree into your home and place it in a stand, re-cut the trunk at least one inch from the bottom just before putting it in the stand. Even if you just cut it, this re-opens the tree stem so it can drink water. Christmas trees are very thirsty! It is not unusual for a tree to drink 2 gallons of water the first day it is in the stand.

Choose a spot away from heat sources. Heat sources like heat registers, space heaters, fireplaces, wood stoves, televisions, computer monitors, etc. speed up evaporation and moisture loss of the tree.

Water immediately. After making the fresh cut, place the tree in a large capacity stand with warm water. The stand you use should hold at least one gallon of fresh water.

Don't add anything to the water! Research has shown that plain tap water is the best. Some commercial additives and home concoctions can actually decrease a tree's moisture retention and increase needle loss.

Check the water level daily. Do not allow the water level to drop below the fresh cut or the stem will reseal and be unable to drink.

What can I do with my tree after the holiday season?

In Anoka County, Christmas trees can be dropped off for free once they've been cleaned of all tinsel, ornaments, lights, etc. Check out this link for more information. https://www.anokacounty.us/359/Compost-Sites

These trees are chipped and recycled into mulch. Mulch moderates soil temperatures, suppresses weeds and helps hold soil moisture.

After removing indoor decorations, you can also set your tree in its stand outside and decorate it for our winter birds. (No need to water it). The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust recommends a variety of homemade treats such as suet cakes, branches of berries, popcorn, pinecones smeared with peanut butter, and other treats. We simply set ours out by our bird feeders and the birds love the extra cover from wind, cold and predators. In early spring, we bring it to our local compost site.

Will we ever run out of trees?

The National Christmas Tree Association reports that for every tree that is cut, 2 to 3 trees are planted the following spring. So the more trees sold, the more that are planted. And the more trees planted, the more carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere, releasing even more oxygen. This helps reduce our carbon footprint.

This information was adapted from MN Extension https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-news/christmas-tree-care-and-fun-facts 


More information can be found here: https://www.treetriage.com/tree-removal/christmas-trees/

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