Wildlife and Habitat Surveys in Oak SavRare annas of the Anoka Sand Plain Subsection

摘要

The upland habitats in the Anoka Sand Plain Subsection, including those targeted by this project, are being developed at an alarming rate. The main portion of this subsection stretches across the northern portion of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, west to the St. Cloud area, and north to the North Branch area. Population growth in the Anoka Sand Plain is the second fastest of any subsection in the state, and more than 90% of the land as in private ownership (MNDNR 2006). Oak savanna is designated as a key habitat in the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) (MNDNR 2006) for the Anoka Sand Plain Subsection, and the oak savannas remaining in this subsection are some of the highest quality examples of this habitat type remaining in the state. Most of the remaining savannas occur on public lands. Surveys of rare animals in this subsection were completed by the Minnesota County Biological Survey (MCBS) in 1990. Due to the high number of counties surveyed during that field season, many portions of this subsection were not surveyed. Additionally, these surveys did not include invertebrate species. Thus, the MCBS data are 20 years old, incomplete, and do not include information on invertebrate Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) as defined by the SWAP. Goal II of SWAP is to improve knowledge about SGCN (MNDNR 2006 pgs. 74-75). This survey addressed this goal by implementing Strategy IIA-surveying SGCN populations and habitats. To do this we addressed the priority conservation actions of surveying SGCN populations related to the key habitats (oak savanna), surveying wildlife taxa underrepresented by MCBS animal surveys, and collecting habitat information needed to support the conservation of oak savanna habitat.