Thanks to the help of partners and supporters, TNC has reached a major milestone in conservation.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC)—a conservation organization committed to building a future where both people and nature thrive—announced a significant milestone: 1 million acres protected across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
For more than 65 years, TNC’s Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota chapter has collaborated with partners, private landowners and Native Nations to protect and restore the grasslands, forests and fresh water that define this region. Public investment in conservation, supported by voters and approved by legislators each year, has also been vital to this work.
“We work with some of the smartest and most passionate people to protect places that support wildlife, provide clean water, mitigate climate change and benefit our communities,” said Ann Mulholland, director of TNC in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. “We’re so grateful for every partner and legislator that supports our work, every private landowner that trusts us and every dollar donated that has helped us get here.”
These million acres—an area the size of Rhode Island—protect some of the region’s most diverse and resilient lands and waters. From dense boreal forests and clear lakes up north to winding rivers and vast grasslands out west, Minnesotans and Dakotans use these lands to relax, fish, hike, spot wildlife, connect with nature and sustain their livelihoods.
TNC works to restore and steward the land it acquires. However, most of the acres TNC has helped protect have not remained in its ownership. The organization frequently transfers land to partners, public entities or Native Nations who continue to protect it.
Nearly 455,000 acres are now public lands, such as state and local parks, national forests and wildlife refuges. More than 425,000 acres remain in the hands of private landowners as family farms, forests and ranches, with voluntary land protection agreements in place. And close to 120,000 acres are owned by TNC, including dozens of public nature preserves across the three states.
“TNC has strategically used conservation easements, a type of voluntary land protection agreement, as a successful tool to protect nearly half of the million acres,” said Rachel Bush, TNC’s director of grassland strategy. “Through voluntary land agreements, landowners continue to own and earn a livelihood on their lands through ranching, farming and sustainable logging. The agreement ensures the land and its resources are protected for future generations.”
To date, TNC has helped protect 712,247 acres in Minnesota, including the 6,078-acre Bluestem Prairie Preserve in Clay County, which is recognized as one of the largest and highest-quality northern tallgrass prairies in the U.S. and is home to booming prairie chickens in the spring. In central Minnesota, TNC’s 841-acre Ordway Prairie Preserve protects a mosaic of relatively undisturbed grasslands, woods and wetlands that once stretched across the Great Plains. TNC also played a major role in creating the 24,000-acre Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge and the 6,800-acre Tettegouche State Park. More than 22,000 acres of land in Minnesota have been protected through the support of the Outdoor Heritage Fund.
In South Dakota and North Dakota, TNC has helped protect 236,313 acres and 51,440 acres, respectively. Most of this land remains in the hands of private landowners who continue to work and care for the land responsibly, but it also includes special places like TNC’s 4,588-acre Whitney Preserve near Hot Springs. This preserve protects sage lands, pine forest, mixed grasslands and unique freshwater systems in the southern Black Hills. Near Washburn, North Dakota, TNC’s 5,593-acre Cross Ranch Preserve provides floodplain forest and prairie habitat for roaming bison, migrating whooping cranes, and piping plover.
While this milestone is monumental, much more conservation work is needed to ensure long-term resilience and prosperity, particularly in these states where the majority of land is privately owned.
“We’re thrilled to have played a part in protecting one million acres in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota,” said Mulholland. “And we’re not slowing down—we’re already working with landowners, partners and donors on securing the next million acres.”
This milestone was nearly 70 years in the making, but TNC is setting ambitious goals to conserve the next million acres in the coming decade. Learn more about the places TNC has protected and the partners that made this milestone possible at nature.org/millionacres.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 80+ countries and territories (40 by direct conservation impact and 41 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit nature.org/tristate.