What are Scientific and Natural Areas?

The Scientific and Natural Areas Program preserves Minnesota's natural heritage (ecological and geological diversity maintained for present and future generations) for scientific study and public understanding.

Characteristics that distinguish Natural Areas include:

• Undisturbed plant communities, such as prairie or peatlands
• Rare or endangered species habitat, such as the sunny rock outcrops needed for the five-lined skink
• Seasonal habitat for bird or animal concentrations, such as herons, egrets and the endangered piping plover
• Natural geologic formations and features, such as eskers and rock outcrops
• Plant communities undergoing succession as a result of natural processes, such as old-growth forests

Goals

• Primary — Ensure that Minnesota's natural heritage is not lost from any ecological region of the state.
• Secondary — Provide compatible nature-based recreation, education and scientific research opportunities.

History

In the mid-1960s concerned citizens urged Minnesota to become one of the first states to create state-owned and managed Natural Areas. In 1965, a 15-member panel of experts in biology and geology called the Commissioner's Natural Heritage Advisory Committee was formed to advise the DNR Commissioner on Natural Areas and to encourage the legislature to establish a program.

State-administered Scientific and Natural Areas were initially authorized by the Minnesota Legislature in 1969 (M.S. 84.033). The first Scientific and Natural Area, Rush Lake Island, was acquired in 1974 to preserve a heron rookery.

In 1980, an incentive for private landowners to preserve their prairies was added to the program. Native Prairie Tax Exemption allows for exempting eligible lands from property taxes.

Natural Areas Registry recognizes public land containing exceptional natural features. Since 1982 the SNA program has developed agreements with land managers for ecological management of these areas.

In 1987, Native Prairie Bank conservation easements on private lands were added to the Scientific and Natural Area Program tool box (M.S. 84.96).

Today, over 160 SNAs and 120 Native Prairie Bank easements form the backbone of protected areas in the Program. These sites represent a diverse set of natural habitats across the state.

Icelandite Coastal Fen SNA

The Icelandite Coastal Fen is a rare habitat type, one of only a few coastal wetlands along Minnesota’s North Shore, and one of two fens found on the coastline. Fens are groundwater-fed bogs that accumulate peat, and take thousands of years to form. “Icelandite” refers to the site’s bedrock, which is a relatively uncommon type of igneous rock for Minnesota. The area also includes a Lake Superior beach of rounded pebbles, and a beach ridge formed by storm waves about 100 feet from the shore.

The area is also home to several rare plant species, including auricled twayblade (Listera auriculata), an orchid that has been found in only nine other places in Minnesota, and is listed by the state as endangered.