DNR: 75-year-old system of protected lands is the 'heartbeat' of wildlife conservation

from Minnesota Now · host Minnesota Public Radio

The “Land of 10,000 Lakes” is also the land of 10 million acres of wetlands. That may sound like a lot, but it is just about half the wetlands that existed in Minnesota before European settlement, according to the Department of Natural Resources. In the mid-20th century, government policies incentivized farmers to drain or fill wetlands, and crops spread across areas that were critical to birds and other wildlife. A movement to protect and recover wetlands grew into a system of state lands called Wildlife Management Areas. This year, the DNR is celebrating the 75th anniversary of this conservation strategy, which now includes about 1,500 WMAs across a variety of habitats. DNR Wildlife Section Manager Dave Trauba joined MPR News host Emily Bright to talk about the history and future of these areas.

NOW PLAYING

0:00 9:00

1×

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

Why Live and Evergreen Models Both Fall Short

Feb 4, 2026 ·18m

Similar Podcasts

Chewing the Fat with WorkForge WorkForge Bite-Sized Conversations for Building a Stronger Workforce Welcome to Chewing the Fat, a podcast delving deep into the world of food manufacturing. Dive into real conversations around critical topics like staffing, retention, onboarding, and career development in this essential industry. Subscribe now to gain insights from your peers, subject matter experts and more on the biggest issues facing food manufacturers today: -Hiring and retaining employees -Addressing the challenges of the Silver Tsunami -Improving time to productivity of new employees -Engaging employees from hire to retire And more... Tune in to Chewing the Fat, a WorkForge podcast, and join the conversation on how to build and sustain a resilient, high-performing workforce in food manufacturing. The Course Mentors Podcast The Course Mentors Hey there, future course creator!Ever feel like turning your know-how into an online course is like trying to solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded? Well, grab your headphones because "The Course Mentors Podcast" is here to be your secret weapon!Meet Aimee and Odette (that's us!), your new best friends in the course creation world. We've been in the trenches for over a decade, and for the last five years, we've been rocking the online course space. Now we're here to spill all our secrets in bite-sized, 15-20 minute episodes that'll fit perfectly in your coffee breaks.No fluff, no filler - just real, actionable advice that'll take you from "um, what's a landing page?" to "holy moly, I just hit six figures!". We're talking everything from crafting your course to marketing it like a pro and building a business that'll have you pinching yourself.Whether you're dreaming of ditching the 9-to-5 grind, adding a sweet extra income str NEWMORROW SESSIONS - A PodCast Series on the Future of Hospitality Mario C. Bauer, Florian Schneider, Axel Weber & Dr. Tillman Bardt The Newmorrow PodCast is more than a podcast — it's a platform for open dialog on the future of our business, a platform for those building what doesn’t exist yet. Here, we share and embrace our passion for the hospitality industry, but we won’t romanticize the journey. We ask the tough questions, confront uncomfortable truths, and prepare for a future that resists easy answers. We believe that the tougher and wilder times become, the more openly, honestly and humanely people need to talk to each other and act together. We believe, openness, togetherness, and truthfulness should also be cornerstones of a professional community to develop our utopian idea of „open source“. This is a space where visionaries don’t just imagine the future — they wrestle with the paradoxes that shape it: success vs. happiness, data vs. instinct, stability vs. reinvention. Join leaders, entrepreneurs, and thinkers as they share not what made them — but what’s actively shaping them, now and next. So tune in FEAR NOTHING and Have Lots of Fun with Carlie Lara Wallace carlielara Welcome to The Fear Nothing and Have Lots of Fun Podcast!! We get vulnerable, we have fun, and there’s always a bit of the gospel! These episodes detail all that God is doing in my life right now, and what I’m learning through these experiences. NEW EPISODES come out every Wednesday at 6:05am for those hump day early risers!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Minnesota Now?

This episode is 9 minutes long.

When was this Minnesota Now episode published?

This episode was published on April 8, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Can I download this Minnesota Now episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.

URL copied to clipboard!