Things "the management" needs to communicate/understand better are:
1) diverse biomes are more impactful~ a field of Big Blue Stem means a whole lot less than a diverse grassland complex
2) it ain't coming back the way it was~ skip the kumbaya pole rub and stop trying to manage to "native" landscape. Use native species, but suck it up and deal with the fact "nature" needs manipulation to increase its production on available acres (just like farming).
3) not all water is created equal~ the dead deep hole that just became a WPA/WMA isn't going to do squat unless you dump 3x more into it to make it functional.... and at current growth rates a rookery for cormorants/pelicans/egrets/etc. is not functional.
4) if all we do is play the cards we're dealt~ might as well fold. $100+ million coming into LCMR and too much of that bad policy is going to protecting woods, trails, parks.... but yet, the DNR is concerned about the soon to be dead State Park users and they are having difficulty recruiting younger users.
Our natural areas are going to look like a freakin' under endowed museum where the dioramas are dusty, the stuffed bears have natty ass fur, and there's one old dude talking about when the place used to be busy.
Yes, April through October is our prime duck habitat. Yet the bluebill studies show the birds are arriving on nesting grounds below weight because the historical bodies suck. Put food in their way and they will find it. If the breeding duck population can figure out if they should nest in ND, MB, MN, etc. by current conditions and population density, they sure as hell can figure out what dead water is compared to rich water.
The DNR's 50 year, sit on a shelf, duck plan calls for "corridors". Advantages to corridors are decreased predation, increased upland nesting sites, etc. But by the time they realize they won't be able to take that much land out of county production the drafters will be dead, all the LCMR money will be repaving the Paul Bunyan Trail, and there will be an old dude talking about 2019, the last year there were ducks in MN (sniff).