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PINE BEND BLUFFS - OAK SAVANNA, DRY PRAIRIE AND MESIC PRAIRIE RESTORATION
Pine Bend Bluffs, one of the largest unprotected natural areas left in the Twin Cities metro area, is located along the Mississippi River on property owned by Flint Hills Resources (formerly Koch Petroleum Group). GRG, Flint Hills Resources, Friends of the Mississippi River and hundreds of volunteers began working together to restore and manage this rare landscape in 2000.
Volunteers removed exotic species that had formed a nearly impenetrable understory beneath the large open-grown oaks of the site's oak savanna. After additional site preparation by crews and contractors, prairie grasses and wildflowers were planted here in fall 2001.
The dry prairie provides a spectacular view of the Mississippi River. This prairie hosts a rare assemblage of plant species but is threatened with encroachment by woody species and exotic species like cheatgrass. To inform future management decisions, GRG conducted an inventory documenting the native and exotic species present. In fall 2000, GRG used this site as a training ground for Flint Hills Resources employees, volunteer supervisors and other community members to identify prairie plant species. Volunteers carefully collected seed from this sensitive site for later broadcasting into areas where woody species were removed.
Old fields adjacent to the remnant oak savanna and dry prairie offer exciting opportunities for mesic prairie restoration, and this work began in 2000. These fields, once dominated by non-native species, were prepared and sown with native prairie grasses and wildflowers in the fall 2001.
GRG, Flint Hills Resources and Friends of the Mississippi River plan to continue the restoration of this important natural area.
Also providing funding are the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, as recommended by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources.
