NWTF Helps Celebrate 75 Years of Minnesota WMAs
For 75 years, Minnesota’s wildlife management areas have provided places for people to hunt, fish and enjoy the great outdoors. Now, the National Wild Turkey Federation and its partners are helping celebrate that legacy by inviting the public to share their own WMA experiences. In honor of the 75th anniversary of Minnesota’s WMA system, the Minnesota DNR and its partners are hosting a photo contest highlighting the people, wildlife and landscapes found on WMAs across the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The NWTF is among several organizations sponsoring the contest.
The contest opens Sept. 19 and runs through Dec. 1.
Participants are encouraged to submit photos showing how they experience Minnesota’s WMAs, whether that means time spent hunting, exploring with family, watching wildlife or simply enjoying the outdoors.
The NWTF is sponsoring the contest alongside Ducks Unlimited, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Pheasants Forever, the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society, Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, Minnesota Wildlife Federation and Outdoor News.
Winners will receive an outdoor swag package, with additional prize details to be announced. Contest rules, submission information and additional details will be available starting Sept. 19 at: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/
With WMAs ranging from the half-acre Balsam Island WMA in Itasca County to the 322,246-acre Red Lake WMA in Beltrami and Lake of the Woods counties, most Minnesotans have one close by: 86 of the state’s 87 counties include at least one WMA. Learn more about the evolution of Minnesota’s WMAs.
Supporting the contest is another way for the NWTF to recognize the role public lands play in connecting people with wildlife and the outdoors while celebrating the generations of hunters, conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts who have used Minnesota’s WMAs.
The Minnesota NWTF State Chapter has helped provide funding to more than 8,320 acres worth of acquisitions in the last five years alone. Some of those parcels are owned by counties, but the vast majority are owned and managed as WMAs by the DNR. For instance, the Minnesota NWTF State Chapter helped purchase a 40-acre parcel that will be soon added to the Mantrap WMA.
Aside from acquisitions, the NWTF has also received $866,000 in state grants to implement habitat work on WMAs in the last five years. Grant funding opportunities such as the Outdoor Heritage Fund and Conservation Partners Legacy grants available from the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment have been instrumental in the NWTF getting habitat work implemented across Minnesota.
The Minnesota NWTF State Chapter has also provided $48,000 from its Super Fund as a match for those grants. One project receiving CPL funds is the “Kramer’s Ridge South Slope Project” on the Whitewater WMA.
Located in the renowned Driftless Area, the South Slope Project builds off a previous prairie restoration project completed by the NWTF on the Whitewater WMA. The project focuses on timber stand improvement practices by treating invasive species and removing any undesirable hardwood species within the site. A portion of the project will also restore a bluff prairie in an otherwise oak-hickory-dominated forest. This work will enhance nesting and brood-rearing habitat while also improving accessibility to roost trees. The Minnesota NWTF State Chapter has contributed funds to numerous similar projects on WMAs across the state.
For the NWTF, supporting the photo contest is an extension of the habitat work on WMAs across the state. It is another way to recognize the role public lands play in connecting people with wildlife and the outdoors while celebrating the generations of hunters, conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts who have used Minnesota’s WMAs.