Land protected with a conservation easement remains in private hands, and landowners retain all authority for maintenance and upkeep. However, the Land Trust works with landowners to craft habitat management plans that guide upkeep of natural areas on their property. Habitat Management Plans may include specific restoration and management recommendations to improve the condition of lands and water for wildlife or other natural resources.
Restoration in progress
If you have a conservation easement on your land, you become eligible for state and federal funds to help in restoring the land. The Minnesota Land Trust will assist landowners with habitat enhancement or ecological restoration work after the property is protected. We can arrange technical support, apply for and administer grants, connect a landowner to experts, and in certain instances manage construction.
Learn more about how the Minnesota Land Trust works to heal the land.
Learn more about Ecological Restoration.
If you are a landowner interested in restoring the natural systems on your land, check out our current restoration grant opportunities, and get in touch with us to discuss your project.
Minnesota Land Trust Private Lands Restoration Projects
- Restoration Improves Forest Health, Mitigates Wildfire Risk in Northern Minnesota
The buzz of chainsaws is punctuated by a crack of wood. Though it may seem counterintuitive, even jarring, this is the sound of forest restoration—specifically, restoration of 115 acres in Lake County, Minnesota. The owners of the property, situated directly between Split Rock Lighthouse and Gooseberry Falls State Parks, acquired a conservation easement in 2019,… Read more: Restoration Improves Forest Health, Mitigates Wildfire Risk in Northern Minnesota - A Century Old Farm’s Greatest Yield Yet
The property in the Minnesota Land Trust’s Rum and St. Croix River Conservation Priority area includes the forested northern shore of Rock Lake and is situated between a Walmart Supercenter, golf course, and two residential developments near the growing community of Pine City, Minnesota. The most obvious and, likely lucrative, opportunity for retired farmer… Read more: A Century Old Farm’s Greatest Yield Yet - Goats Help Restore Resilient Lands in Southeast Minnesota
Goats are known for all kinds of antics, including yelling, fainting, and of course, climbing into everything from delivery trucks to trees. In Southeastern Minnesota, on a Winona County property permanently protected by a Minnesota Land conservation easement, these functionally majestic animals are being leveraged for another one of their innate talents-their ability to destroy… Read more: Goats Help Restore Resilient Lands in Southeast Minnesota
