Minnesota Ranks Among Nation’s Best For Wildlife Conservation

Minnesota is known for cold weather, sports teams that can't win the big one and, of course, its vast expanse of wildlife. How well does Minnesota protect that wildlife? A recent study from SmileHub has found the state to be among the nation's best at conservation.

Using factors like Government and Community Support, Legal Protection and Ecosystem Status, SmileHub ranked all 50 states to find out which were the best at taking care of the environment.

At the top of the list is Vermont, which placed six in the government/community support category, sixth in legal protection and fifth in ecosystem.

Alaska finished sixth overall but was ranked first in government/community support. California was fifth overall but first in legal protection and seventh-overall Maine finished in the top spot for Ecosystem Status Rank.

Minnesota placed 10th overall, with its highest mark coming in the ecosystem status rank category, where it finished seventh. Otherwise Minnesota was 16th in government/community support and 17th in legal protection rank.

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SMILEHUB:

"The U.S. is home to over 21,000 native species of plants and animals, with over 1,600 of them listed as either endangered or threatened. These animals rely on diverse ecosystems that are increasingly under threat. There are also more than 6,500 invasive species across the country competing with native wildlife and disrupting their natural habitats. Combined with challenges like land development, pollution, and climate change, these pressures make effective conservation efforts essential.

To highlight the best states for wildlife protection and the ones that have the most room to improve, SmileHub compared each of the 50 states using 17 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of animal charities per capita to the presence of endangered species legislation to the overexploitation of wild species."