Home for wildlife along two rivers

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The Two Rivers Wildlife Management Area in Redwood County was recently dedicated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The project, located at the confluence of Plum Creek and the Cottonwood River, three miles north of Revere, between Lamberton and Walnut Grove, is located at the confluence of Plum Creek and the Cottonwood River. It was named Minnesota's Golden Anniversary Wildlife Area.

Purchased by the DNR from the Herman H. and Mary Anne Neumann Trust, the 726-acre wildlife area has a diverse variety of cover and wildlife. It includes a variety of prairie grasses.

The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association invested $9,000 in the area, planting shrubs and winter cover for wildlife.

The wildlife management area is also a prime hunting spot with wild turkeys, ring-necked pheasants, deer and non-game birds, according to Ken Varland, DNR Region 4 Wildlife Manager at New Ulm.

He said the land also includes flood plain crop land, rolling hills and slopes with grasses and wooded areas.

When complete, the wildlife area will include 460 acres of prairie restoration, 77 acres of forested woodland, 60 acres of row crops, 52.5 acres of native and non-native grasses, 51 acres of savannah 21 acres of tree and shrub planting and four acres of wet meadows and wetlands.

The project was made possible with donations and funds from the Neumanns, Redwood County Pheasants Forever, Pheasants Forever Minnesota Habitat Fund, Ron Schara and his dog "Raven," Gander Mountain, KARE-11, Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, North American Wetland Conservation Act and the DNR.

The Two Rivers WMA dedication is part of the continuing celebration this summer and fall of the Golden Anniversary of Minnesota's "Save the Wetlands" program, which eventually evolved into the State's WMA Program.

"When the Save the Wetlands Program was launched in 1951, the initial goal was to purchase 200,000 acres of wetlands in order to protect them from being drained," Varland said. "Eventually, Save the Wetlands was expanded and came to include the purchase of upland habitat as well as wetlands. These areas are managed under the DNR's WMA system which now totals more than one million acres in Minnesota."

Wildlife Management Area lands are managed for wildlife and open for public hunting, hiking, trapping, nature walking and other uses.

Minnesota's Wildlife Management Area system is among the best in the country, according to Gary Johnson, long-time DNR Wildlife Manager at Little Falls.

"Sometimes it's easy to just take for granted these public lands," Johnson said. "Minnesota's WMA system is the envy of other states throughout the country and without them Minnesota would have dramatically less wildlife habitat and hunting opportunities. For the past 50 years, there have been a lot of individuals and organizations who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make these lands available for the public to enjoy. It's time they were recognized and celebrated."

Two months ago, 50 people who were selected as having made the most important contributions to Minnesota WMAs over the years were honored with a morning reception at the Governor's Mansion followed by an awards ceremony at the state fairgrounds.

Honorees included former New Ulm attorney Henry Somsen, now of Rochester and the late Earl Kopischke of Madelia.