Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Minnesota was established in 2004 as a large-scale effort to restore northern tallgrass prairie and prairie wetlands on former marginal farmland. Developed through a broad partnership led by The Nature Conservancy, it became one of the nation’s most ambitious restoration projects, with thousands of acres restored, more than one hundred wetlands brought back, and significant gains in prairie and wetland cover. The refuge now supports a diverse prairie-wetland landscape and species including moose, prairie grouse, waterfowl, sandhill cranes, and the threatened western prairie fringed orchid. Its restoration has also improved water quality and natural hydrology.