Minnesota DNR updates Wildlife Action Plan to address emerging conservation concerns

The Department of Natural Resources and numerous partners have updated the Minnesota Wildlife Action Plan to better reflect conservation of the state’s native wildlife species in a changing climate. “The plan addresses the primary causes of species population declines in Minnesota,” said the plan’s coordinator, Faith Balch. “Those causes include habitat loss and degradation, low reproduction and other biological issues, and the impacts of climate change. Along with the agencies and organizations that will implement the plan, we encourage anyone concerned about our state’s wildlife to review it and get involved.” The plan outlines three goals: . Ensure that Minnesota’s wildlife remains healthy and viable, with a focus on Species in Greatest Conservation Need. About 16 percent of Minnesota’s known native wildlife species are identified as Species in Greatest Conservation Need because they are rare, declining or vulnerable to decline. . Enhance opportunities for people to watch wildlife and participate in conservation. . Acquire the resources necessary to successfully implement the plan.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved the revised Minnesota Wildlife Action Plan earlier this year. The 2005 plan goals were updated to better reflect wildlife conservation needs and approaches in a changing climate. The updated plan identifies 346 Species in Greatest Conservation Need, compared to 292 in the previous plan. Among the changes are the addition of the monarch butterfly and five native species of bees.

The plan, a list of Species in Greatest Conservation Need, and related resources are available at www.mndnr.gov/mnwap.

In developing the plan, the DNR collaborated with more than 40 conservation partners representing a diverse group of agencies, organizations and individuals. Partners include the DNR’s divisions of Fish and Wildlife, Forestry, Parks and Trails, and Ecological and Water Resources, as well as representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, University of Minnesota, Science Museum of Minnesota, Minnesota Zoo, The Nature Conservancy, The Minnesota Chapter of The Wildlife Society, and Audubon Minnesota. More than 70 agencies and organizations including 10 tribes were contacted and invited to review and submit comments on the final draft of the plan.