Agencies Regulating Wetlands:
Minnesota Board of Water &
Soil Resources (BWSR)
The BWSR is the state’s administrative agency for 91 soil and water conservation districts, 43 watershed districts, 27 metropolitan watersheds, and 80 county water management organizations. The agency’s purpose, working through local government, is to protect and enhance the state’s irreplaceable soil and water resources by implementing the state’s soil and water conservation policy, comprehensive local water management, and the WCA as it relates to the 41.7 million acres of private land in Minnesota.
Because 78 percent of the state's land is held in private ownership, the agency’s focus on private lands is critical for the state to attain its goals for clean water, clean air, and abundant fish and wildlife. Managed wisely, these working lands – Minnesota’s farms, forests, and urban areas – contribute greatly to the production of environmental goods and benefits including cleaner air and water, fish and wildlife habitat, and preservation of open spaces.
Agency programs to assist landowners and local government have resulted in less sediment and nutrients entering our lakes, rivers, and streams; more fish and wildlife habitat; and the drastic slowing of wetland losses. These have been realized in spite of intensification of agriculture, greater demands for forest products, and rapid urbanization in many parts of the state.
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