Minnesota’s wetlands provide critical habitat for dozens of plants, animals, and bird species including cranes, ducks, and wrens. Wetlands also provide natural flood protection, recharge groundwater, and purify surface water across our state.
To protect these natural resources and the services they provide, the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act was enacted in 1991. WCA has received strong bipartisan support for over two decades in protecting Minnesota’s remaining wetlands, promising no net loss of remaining wetlands by requiring lost acres to be replaced.
Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act
The Wetland Conservation Act is administered by local units of government with oversight from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources developed a plan for the conservation and ways to utilize Minnesota’s wetlands. The goal for wetland conservation in Minnesota is to maintain and restore the quality and diversity and increase the overall quantity of wetlands in the state, varying regionally in accordance with differences in the character and health of the wetland resource, in order to promote ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable communities. The purpose of the Minnesota Wetlands Conservation Plan is to guide stewardship of wetlands and it does so by using a geographic system approach to the issues.
National Wetland Conservation Act
Recognizing the importance of wetland conservation at the national level, the U.S. Congress passed the North American Wetlands Conservation Act in 1989. Lawmakers value the importance of migratory birds, their habitat, fish, and wildlife. NAWCA protects these values in the following ways:
- Encourages public-private partnerships to develop and implement wetland conservation projects consistent with the North American Waterfowl Management Plan
- Created the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund to assist conservation projects through grants in Canada, the United States, and Mexico
- Provides a mechanism to support migratory bird recovery programs
Explore the following links for more information on Minnesota wetland conservation:
The Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act Manual – Download PDF
Minnesota’s Wetland Regulations – Download PDF
Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act, Forms, and Guidance