File:Wetland Conservation Easement Sand Lake Wetland Management District South Dakota 01 (15683776301).jpg

An aerial view of a wetland easement in the Sand Lake Wetland Management District in North Central South Dakota. This area supports some of the highest concentrations of nesting waterfowl in North America. It contains an abundance of temporary, seasonal, and semi-permanent wetlands that are ideal for many species of waterfowl and other wetland dependent bird species. These perpetual conservation easements are purchased by the US Fish and Wildlife Service from willing landowners and managed as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Where wetland easements exist, they ensure that these wetlands remain on the landscape. The land remains in private ownership, with farming, livestock grazing and haying being the primary economic uses, as it has been for generations. Flights are conducted each year to ensure that wetlands remain undrained. During dry years, landowners may farm the basins using normal agricultural practices that do not attempt to drain water from the wetlands. When moisture returns, the basins fill with water, providing critical wetland habitat. Conservation easements remain popular with many South Dakota landowners more than 50 years after the first conservation easements were purchased, with more demand than available funding.

<a href="http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Sand_Lake_WMD/" rel="nofollow">www.fws.gov/refuge/Sand_Lake_WMD/</a>