Your land is important to you – whether for its wildlife habitat, aesthetic beauty, or economic values.
Currently nearly three million people reside in the seven-county Metropolitan region. Three major rivers, the Minnesota, Mississippi, and St. Croix, traverse a combined total of over 160 linear miles across the metro region. These rivers are not only critically important regions of wildlife habitat and water supply, but also function as recreational areas for many outdoor enthusiasts.
Permanent protection of these regions can help ensure preservation of crucial habitat for wildlife, green spaces for the aesthetic beauty they provide, and wildlife based recreational opportunities for the many residents of the metro region. Minnesota Land Trust works with private landowners throughout the Metro Area to protect these natural resources through conservation easements. Your land has its own unique character and history. You can preserve its legacy forever by protecting your property through a conservation easement. Under a conservation easement, you would still own the land, have complete control and would have it permanently protected in its natural state.
The Sherburne Soil & Water Conservation District has partnered with the Minnesota Land Trust to help permanently protect our lands and water through conservation easements.
What are the minimum requirements?
Minimum criteria for inclusion into the program include:
Lands
• Must be located within the Metro Program area;
• Must be at least 40 acres in size;
• Must have a maximum of 20% of total proposed easement area in agricultural use (e.g. row crops, tree farms, orchards);
• Must contain high quality native plant communities (forests, prairies, woodlands), trout streams, shoreland along rivers and streams, or rare and threatened species;
• Must not be already enrolled in permanent protection programs, such as RIM. Lands in non-permanent protections programs (CRP, etc.) may be eligible.
What restrictions will the Conservation Easement have?
Restrictions required to protect the targeted natural habitats and associated species in the program area include
• Feedlots are not allowed;
• Buffers of 100 feet width must be established along all wetlands, intermittent and perennial streams, rivers and lakes prior to closing of the easement.
• Agricultural use is restricted to current areas.
Each conservation easement completed by the Minnesota Land Trust is unique and is individually crafted to reflect the special characteristics of the land and the particular situation of the landowner.
A habitat management plan is required for all lands enrolled in an easement. More detailed plans would be required for pasturing livestock or harvesting forests.
For more information please contact the Sherburne SWCD at 763-241-1170 x 4. We can provide a Fact Sheet from the Minnesota Land Trust that fully describes the requirements of the program for you to review (the minimum acreage is flexible) as well as an application. Note that the deadline for the application is Aug. 26. This is an ongoing program; do not hesitate to contact the Minnesota Land Trust if you decide to explore this opportunity at a later time.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to contact Nick Bancks with the Minnesota Land Trust at: (651) 917-6282 or Gina with the Sherburne SWCD 763-241-1170 ext. 4 or ghugo@sherburneswcd.org. Also if you are interested in a site visit to discuss woodland management, buckthorn control, or other conservation opportunities, please call or email Gina for a free consultation.
