On a blustery, rainy Wednesday near Owatonna, about 100 conservation leaders gathered atop a knoll overlooking restored wetlands and prairie grasses to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Reinvest in Minnesota Reserve program. The RIM program, launched in 1986 under Gov. Rudy Perpich, has restored more than 230,000 acres of wetlands and grasslands in the state – all on private lands -- helping to improve water quality while boosting wildlife habitat. Representatives of Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Izaak Walton League and many others joined state, federal and local government officials to congratulate themselves on the landmark conservation program. The 120-acre parcel where the celebration took place is owned by wildlife artist Jim Killen of Owatonna. Canada geese flew over a restored wetland and a flock of teal settled into another pond on the rolling landscape, which also holds pheasants , songbirds, deer and other wildlife. "We'll hunt ducks here on Saturday,'' Killen said, nodding to one of the larger restored wetlands. "I feel privileged.''. The entire parcel once was drained and farmed. But it was marginal cropland, at best. "A few years ago it was agriculture,'' said Tom Wenzel, a water resources engineer with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources. "Now it's a sea of grass and wetlands with wildlife everywhere.'' The state has invested $170 million in the RIM program. But since 1998, those state dollars have leveraged another $260 million of federal dollars through the Wetlands Reserve Program and Conservation Reserve Program. The program continues to be a major factor in conserving private lands in Minnesota. Under it, landowners are paid for perpetual conservation easements, meaning once the wetlands and prairie grasses are restored, they can never be farmed or developed. "We can be very proud of what we have accomplished,'' said Dave Zentner of Duluth, who was on a citizens committee that helped develop the RIM program 25 years ago. "But there's much more to be done.''