Wildlife Management Area (WMA) are pieces of land that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) maintains. Since the WMA programs inception in 1951, nearly 1,5000 WMAs have been named spanning approximately 1.3 million acres.
These precious pieces of land are home to a wide variety of wildlife. Instead of the sounds of the city, you can hear different birds. The preservation of certain specifies of native Minnesota birds can be credited to the conservation efforts put forth by the Wildlife Management Area program. Some of the fowl preserved be these efforts are Sandhill cranes, Peregrine falcon, and the Trumpeter swan.
The WMAs of Minnesota are a welcoming place for hunters, trappers, and nature enthusiasts to go and enjoy. People can enjoy bird watching, canoeing, hiking and more of the things we all love about living in Minnesota. The preservation efforts have allowed for hunting of certain birds to resume, such as the prairie chicken.
Funding for Wildlife Management Areas comes from a variety of sources. We can help support these conservation efforts by purchasing hunting licenses, critical habitat license plates or giving money directly to them. They also have an “Adopt a WMA” program which is a more hands on commitment. Beyond individuals most of the funding comes from groups created after the Clean Water and Legacy amendment was passed in 2008.
My favorite thing about living in Minnesota is the sound of the birds singing on a spring morning. I love to sit on a lake and hear a loon say hello. There is a powerful sense of peace and unity when you are outside, now more than ever we should be visiting and supporting our Wildlife Management Areas. We can each do our parts as individuals be it cleaning up the garbage on our walk, purchasing a license, or just sharing the legacy with your children.
Melissa