Land Conservation: Planning

FMR works hard to ensure that our conservation efforts result in the greatest positive ecological outcomes at each of our restoration sites, both individually and as a whole. Every park or natural area we help to protect, conserve and restore contributes to a larger vision of an ecologically healthier and more interconnected Twin Cities metro area river corridor.

Individual sites

During the initial project identification phase, conservation professionals conduct land cover mapping and research, surveys and other data collecting activities. This provides a science-based picture of the landscape, highlights possible land protection goals and approaches, and identifies specific landscape features and parcels for protection.

A more qualitative public process, in which area residents are asked for their thoughts and insights on land protection and specific natural areas that might be protected, often accompanies this quantitative, science-based approach.

At each site that we restore, FMR writes a site-specific natural resource management plan (NRMP) to guide our long-term restoration work. Check out our place pages to see some examples of site-specific NRMPs.

Building habitat corridors 

FMR has participated in a number of landscape-scale natural resource planning projects, working with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Dakota County, Washington County, local watershed districts and many other state and local agencies to best coordinate our conservation efforts to maximize our impact.

Frequent products of these planning processes are maps that identify important natural areas and corridors that we use to focus our conservation efforts. By participating in these planning efforts, FMR and its numerous partners can help ensure that all conservation activities are conducted in an efficient, effective and coordinated manner.