Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District
Encyclopedia
Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District is located in northwest Minnesota
and includes the counties of Becker
, Clay
, Mahnomen
, Norman, and Polk
- an area of approximately 6000 square miles (15,539.9 km²). The district is divided into three general landscape areas, roughly equal in size. From west to east, these are: the Red River Valley
floodplain
, the glacial moraine
/prairie
pothole region, and the hardwood
/coniferous forest. The district currently manages over 42000 acres (170 km²) of public land in 165 waterfowl
production areas (WPAs). Additionally, district staff are responsible for more than 300 wetland and upland easement
s on private property, totaling more than 11000 acres (44.5 km²).
Land acquisition and management efforts are focused in the prairie pothole region of the district, with a goal of providing habitat for nesting waterfowl. District acquisition and restoration efforts, begun in the late 1950s, have preserved and restored remnants of the tallgrass prairie
and prairie wetlands. Approximately 3200 acres (12.9 km²) of the district's total acreage are true native prairie remnants.
The primary economic base of the area is agriculture
, with a strong tourism
industry based on area lakes on the west side of the district. Intensive agriculture and drainage over the past 100 years has extensively altered the look and function of the historic landscape. In today's landscape, row crops dominate.
A variety of acquisition efforts, including the Small Wetlands Acquisition Program, which permits the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
to purchase lands for waterfowl production using money generated from the sale of "Duck Stamps," have preserved important remnants of the tallgrass prairie and prairie wetland ecosystems.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and includes the counties of Becker
Becker County, Minnesota
Becker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 32,504. Its county seat is Detroit Lakes. A portion of the White Earth Indian Reservation extends into the county.-History:...
, Clay
Clay County, Minnesota
Clay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 58,999. Its name is in honor of American statesman Henry Clay, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky and United States Secretary of State in the 19th century. Its county seat is Moorhead...
, Mahnomen
Mahnomen County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,190 people, 1,969 households, and 1,366 families residing in the county. The population density was 9 people per square mile . There were 2,700 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile...
, Norman, and Polk
Polk County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,369 people, 12,070 households, and 8,050 families residing in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile . There were 14,008 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
- an area of approximately 6000 square miles (15,539.9 km²). The district is divided into three general landscape areas, roughly equal in size. From west to east, these are: the Red River Valley
Red River Valley
The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North. It is significant in the geography of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba for its relatively fertile lands and the population centers of Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Winnipeg...
floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
, the glacial moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
/prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
pothole region, and the hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
/coniferous forest. The district currently manages over 42000 acres (170 km²) of public land in 165 waterfowl
Waterfowl
Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....
production areas (WPAs). Additionally, district staff are responsible for more than 300 wetland and upland easement
Easement
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
s on private property, totaling more than 11000 acres (44.5 km²).
Land acquisition and management efforts are focused in the prairie pothole region of the district, with a goal of providing habitat for nesting waterfowl. District acquisition and restoration efforts, begun in the late 1950s, have preserved and restored remnants of the tallgrass prairie
Tallgrass prairie
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America, with fire as its primary periodic disturbance. In the past, tallgrass prairies covered a large portion of the American Midwest, just east of the Great Plains, and portions of the Canadian Prairies. They flourished in areas with...
and prairie wetlands. Approximately 3200 acres (12.9 km²) of the district's total acreage are true native prairie remnants.
The primary economic base of the area is agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, with a strong tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
industry based on area lakes on the west side of the district. Intensive agriculture and drainage over the past 100 years has extensively altered the look and function of the historic landscape. In today's landscape, row crops dominate.
A variety of acquisition efforts, including the Small Wetlands Acquisition Program, which permits the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
to purchase lands for waterfowl production using money generated from the sale of "Duck Stamps," have preserved important remnants of the tallgrass prairie and prairie wetland ecosystems.