Minnesota's Wildlife Action Plan

Thank you to everyone who helped prepare Minnesota’s Wildlife Action Plan 2025-2035: Conserving Habitats and Biodiversity. We are happy to announce that the Plan has been approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and we are developing it for publication. In the meantime, please reference Minnesota’s 2015-2025 Wildlife Action Plan.

image of monarch butterflies on Liatrus ligulistylus plants

Minnesota is home to over 2,000 known native wildlife species.

Approximately 27 percent (543) of these species are identified as Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) in Minnesota's Wildlife Action Plan because they are rare, their populations are declining, or they face serious threats that may cause them to decline.

Minnesota's Wildlife Action Plan is a partnership-based conservation plan to:

  1. Ensure the long-term health and viability of Minnesota's wildlife with a focus on species that are rare, declining, or vulnerable to decline;

  2. Enhance opportunities to enjoy Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) and other wildlife and to participate in conservation; and

  3. Acquire the resources necessary to successfully implement the Minnesota Wildlife Action Plan

The plan addresses the primary causes of species population declines:

  • Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation

  • Non-habitat issues such as low reproduction, poor dispersal ability, disease, or overexploitation

  • Climate change impacts

The plan's habitat approach focuses on prioritizing conservation for SGCN and other wildlife within a mapped Wildlife Action Network of quality terrestrial and aquatic habitats throughout the state. Large core areas and connections that facilitate species movement will support the biological diversity already present in the network. Targeting conservation within the network will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of actions to reduce the primary causes of population declines.

The plan's species approach focuses on implementing conservation actions that address the causes of decline that are not fully addressed by the habitat approach (such as disease, low dispersal ability). The approach also focuses on acquiring improved data to identify causes of decline or to assess the distribution and abundance of species.

Minnesota Wildlife Action Plan...learn more!

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