Big Stone Wetland Management District is a protected area encompassing scattered

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

and Lyon Counties, Minnesota, United States. It is operated by the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with oth ...

out of headquarters within

Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge Straddling the headwaters of the Minnesota River in west-central Minnesota, Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge is within the heart of the tallgrass prairie's historic range. Today, less than one-percent of tallgrass prairie remains. Big Stone Re ...

. District staff also serve private land resource interests by providing technical assistance for

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

programs and restoring wetlands on private lands. Currently, there are 22 Waterfowl Production Areas, two FmHA conservation

easement An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a propert ...

s and 31 wetland or habitat protection easements in the district, totaling approximately . The District is also responsible for managing several USFWS properties and easements that are part of the

Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge was established to provide a means of working with individuals, groups, private organizations, and government entities to permanently preserve a portion of the remaining remnant tracts of northe ...

. The area remains a critical

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

breeding and migration area and offers potential for many resource protection/enhancement projects within several watersheds that empty into the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It ris ...

References

External links

Big Stone Wetland Management District
{{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in Minnesota Protected areas of Lincoln County, Minnesota Protected areas of Lyon County, Minnesota Wetlands of Minnesota Landforms of Lincoln County, Minnesota Landforms of Lyon County, Minnesota