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River Terrace Prairie Scientific and Natural Area (SNA)
Cannon Falls/Welch, Goodhue county, MN
83 acres; dry sand - gravel prairie (Southern subtype)

Park Notes
Dry sand - gravel prairies are an imperiled native plant community in Minnesota and this SNA contains the last documented remnant of such in Goodhue county. It lies southeast of the Cannon River but there is no river access from SNA property.

Plants of listed as threatened or of special concern that can be found here include Kitten-tails (Veronica bullii) and Plains Prickly Pear (Opuntia macrorhiza) and it's a good spot for Prairie Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla nuttalliana). Lists of plants present on the site can be found on the DNR webpage (link below). The habitat of this SNA is considered suitable for all species of MN snakes but I don't know to what extent they are found there.

Like many (all?) SNAs, there are no formal, maintained trails but there are paths created either by hiking humans or wildlife. Leaving those paths is permissible and one can wander the property at will.  There is a small parking area with room for two cars on the east side of Sunset Trail near the northwest corner of the SNA. Park to one side so as to leave room for another car to park here. There aren't any signs prohibiting parking on the street in this immediate area. There are no bathrooms. Find the map on the DNR page (link below) and click on the [P] for more info on where the parking area/entrance is located.

The property was designated as an SNA in Jan 2015. Efforts are underway to cull the invasive woody plants that threaten dry prairies. They are also seeking to restore old field/farmed areas  to native prairie vegetation. When we visited in April 2021, there had been recent cutting of timber and it seemed clear the restoration was still a work in progress.

The Cannon Valley Trail (CVT) runs along the south-eastern border of the SNA. Passes are required for bikes, see CVT website (link below) for more info.

It's perhaps worth noting that this property is just across the river from Miesville Ravine Park Preserve. Access to that park requires traveling either to Cannon Falls or Welch to cross the river. And then traveling winding country roads to get to the entrance of Miesville. Through either city, that's a distance of abt 25 miles. The Welch route is more scenic. If in need of amenities, Cannon Falls would be the best route.

Visits
late Apr 2021
We arrived mid-afternoon. It looked like they had been working on the site that day, perhaps cutting down trees and brush. There wasn't much growing yet and the landscape was fairly bare. We hiked a short while, not wandering far from the parking spot, and saw Plains Prickly Pear, blooming Prairie Pasqueflower, and a Common Raven. This is further south than the normal range for Ravens but a pair has been spotted the last few years at Miesville Ravine Park Preserve and nearby areas.

It was clear that the field near the road had been plowed and farmed at one point but I would be interested to visit later in the summer and see how it is progressing toward prairie restoration. I especially think it could be a good spot for summer grassy insects and sparrows.

Useful links/info
Minnesota DNR website
iNaturalist River Terrace Prairie SNA Open Space page
iNaturalist River Terrace Prairie SNA Point of Interest page
eBird Hotspot
Cannon Valley Trail website

Chamberlain Woods Scientific and Natural Area (SNA)
Le Sueur, Le Sueur, MN
302 acres; river floodplain forest, adjadent hillsides

Park Notes
Wedge-shaped Chamberlain Woods SNA is nestled in a meander of the Minnesota River (to its west and north) and bounded on the east by railroad tracks. Most of the acreage is floodplain forest and, in any wet season, will be covered in water. The elevation of the southeast corner is high enough to keep it above most seasonal flooding.

Floodplain forest contains: Silver Maple, Cottonwood, Basswood, and Elm
Elevated terrace contains: Pin Oak and Bur Oak

There are no maintained trails however there are footpaths through the upper terrace part. Hiking the floodplain is possible during (persistently) dry seasons and in the winter. Much of the info agrees that the best times to visit are in the spring when early wildflowers are blooming and in fall when the area is open and dry enough to walk down to the river's edge. In terms of greenery, the upper paths were easily passable in mid-May but one review said they were heavily overgrown in mid-summer.

There are no facilities. Parking is off road and should accommodate at least four cars. We didn't encounter any nuisance flying insects (flies, gnats, mosquitoes) in our Mid-May visit but it has been an especially dry spring. If the lower plain were flooded, I would expect those to be more present. Ticks are found on the property and tick precautions would be highly advised.

Visits
Mid-May 2021
This has been a dry spring for Minnesota and the perpetually flooding Minnesota River. There was no muddiness to the paths on the upper terrace SE corner. One of our party hiked just a bit onto the floodplain and it was not muddy or mucky. That would certainly not have been the case in previous years when the Minnesota River flooded enough to damage municipal infrastructure. So it's hard to assess how our visit might vary from visits in other circumstances.

We were late enough in the spring to have missed the early bloomer although there was evidence of Trout/Fawn Lilies, Bloodroot and Trillium. We did find stands of blooming Blue Phlox, spots of Downy Yellow Violet, developing Virginia Waterleaf and a Jack-in-the-Pulpit. This site also contains a Kentucky Coffeetree which the MN DNR rates as uncommon or rare: "Given its limited distribution in the state and the concerns over reproduction, the species was listed as special concern in 2013."

Birds seen or heard: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blue Jay, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Baltimore Oriole, Common Crow, Blue-winged Warbler.

our Chamberlain Woods SCNA observations

We combined our trip to Chamberlain Woods SNA with a stop at Kasota Prairie SNA and Kasota Prairie (Conservation Area). These two prairie sites are close to each other and about 15 miles south of Chamberlain Woods.

Useful links/info
Parking and access into the SNA is at the corner of 380th St and Exchange Street Rd. This puts you on the upper terrace portion of the property.

Minnesota DNR webpage
iNaturalist Chamberlain Woods SNA Point of Interest page
iNaturalist Chamberlain Woods SNA Open Space page
eBird Hotspot reports
Wildlife Viewing Areas webpage
MinnesotaSeasons.com webpage - has photos of the site
MN DNR Kentucky Coffeetree plage
Guide to State Natural Areas; 1990 draft

Kasota Prairie Conservation Area - most commonly called simply Kasota Prairie
Kasota, Le Sueur, MN
90 acres; Dry Sand - Gravel Prairie (Southern); small pond; forested river bluffs

Kasota Prairie is a private preserve owned and managed by a silica mining plant in cooperation with Save the Kasota Prairie, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. It is one of the few remaining areas in Le Sueur county of tall prairie grasses that are now surrounded by large scale silica mining. Though these properties have been fiercely protected by naturalists, the impact of the mining on these small patches are yet to be fully understood.

This preserve is just a half mile north of (and should not be confused with) Kasota Prairie SNA. That location has its own journal post.

Park Notes
The land contains virgin prairie, previously grazed and now restored prairie, forested river bluffs, and shoreline of the Minnesota River. There is a mowed path that slopes down from the multi-car gravel parking lot toward the river valley.

There is a low stone wall at the entrance to the prairie that is suitable for sitting and one stone bench not far from the parking lot. I can't speak for any other benches that might be on the property since we didn't hike far. There are no facilities here.

Birds found here include Eastern Meadowlark, Dickcissel, Baltimore Oriole, Great Crested Flycatcher, Belted Kingfisher, Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, and Turkey Vulture.

Wildflowers include Hoary Puccoon, Prairie Blue-eyed Grass, and Prairie Violets.

We didn't experience any flying nuisance insects (flies, gnats, mosquitoes) but it was early in the season, it's been dry, and we didn't hike to any bodies of water. Having a mowed path reduces exposure to ticks but one should conduct a tick-check after hiking and, if there is a desire to leave the path, have tick protection in place.

Visits
Mid-May 2021
This was the third location we had visited in the day and we were a bit fatigued so we didn't hike far. On the low stone wall, I found two species of spiders - both were the first documented record for that county. There were also a lot of small bees swarming the dandelions growing next to the wall. I would imagine the combination of grassland and water from the river and lakes would encourage lots of summer insects.

There were a lot of Tree and Bank Swallows - all seemed to be more concerned with defending territory than catching insects. They were flying close to the ground and calling incessantly. We also heard a persistently calling Field Sparrow. There were no wildflowers blooming close to the parking lot but that may have been a factor of timing.

On one hand, the landscape seemed a bit empty especially considering our lack of desire to hike far and the time of year we visited. But the opportunity to see the Bank Swallows (which are hard to find in our residential location) and the discovery of those two spider species made me glad we had stopped.

We combined our trip to Kasota Prairie with a stop at Kasota Prairie SNA (.5 miles south) and Chamberlain Woods SNA (15 miles north).

Mid-August: We made another trip to Le Sueur County and wanted to see how the prairie was progressing into summer. There were lots of grasshoppers seen and heard. We found a small patch of Hemp (Cannabis sativa). Other insects: Alydus (bug), Eastern Tailed-Blue, Common Wood-Nymph, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Widow Skimmer, Thread-waisted Sand Wasp, Dark Paper Wasp. Other plants: Cylindrical Thimbleweed, Prairie Onion, Great St. John's Wort, Carolina Horsenettle. I didn't make a note of birds seen other than a couple of flocks of Canada Geese that flew over the prairie.

Useful links/info
parking lot address: 36312 468th St Kasota, MN - although it is not accessible via 468th St which has been subsumed by the silica mine. Instead, one must travel north on Township Road 140 / 357th Ave to its terminal end at the parking lot. Some older travel directions that can be found online say to travel west on 468th St. That route will no longer work.

Mankato Life: Kasota Prairie
MinnesotaSeasons.com webpage
Save the Kasota Prairie Facebook page

silica mining in regards to natural habitat
When I realized that this site (and the nearby Kasota Prairie SNA) were in the midst of large scale silica mining, my heart sunk. How much of nature would be left? How would our experience be impacted by potential mining noise and trucking?

It seems the fight to preserve this bit of land was hard fought. Ultimately an agreement was reached that the mining company would set aside and be responsible for maintaining land for prairie preservation and restoration. But it wasn't known what long term impacts the extensive mining would have on this prairie land and the nearby (abt .5 miles away) state-owned Kasota Prairie Scientific and Natural Area.

In June of 2020, the mining company filed for bankruptcy which further puts the future of Kasota Prairie in question. We can't replace the land that was lost to those extensive county-wide areas of silica mining. If mining resumes, surely more land will be lost. If it is abandoned, what happens going forward. One thing I was grateful for, there was no noise or incessant trucking going on during our visit. And I suspect we were seeing the Bank Swallows because of the slopes of open sandy soil with no human presence to disrupt their nesting.

I found this book to be really informative and it's available to read online

Two Prairies, One Place
A Historical Geography of the Kasota Prairie
by Bob Douglas
https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/twopraries/
Chapters 7 and 8 deal with silica mining.

more info on the bankruptcy situation and its potential impact on Kasota Prairie:
Mankato Free Press: Unimin/Covia bankruptcy puts Kasota Prairie future in jeopardy (18 Aug 2020)
MPR News: Supporters worry mining company’s bankruptcy filing could leave fate of prairie undecided (27 Aug 2020)

Kasota Prairie Scientific and Natural Area (SNA)
Kasota, Le Sueur, MN
45 acres; virgin prairie, wet meadow, oak woodland, and lowland hardwood plant communities

This SNA is just a half mile south of (and should not be confused with) Kasota Prairie (Conservation Area). That location has its own journal post.

Both Kasota Prairie SNA and Kasota Prairie contain some of the few remaining areas in Le Sueur county of tall prairie grasses that are now surrounded by large scale silica mining. For more a little more context on silica mining, see the journal post for Kasota Prairie (Conservation Area).

Park Notes
The land is on an rock terrace 70 feet above the Minnesota River Valley with thin soil only a foot deep. Most of the property lies on the east side of the road and that is all prairie with patches of scrubby bushes. To the west of the road there are some trees.

Prairie flowers on the site include pasque flowers, prairie violets, yellow stargrass, pale-spike lobelia, sunflowers, gentians, rattlesnake master. A list of wildflowers, ferns, grasses, sedges, trees and shrubs can be found on the DNR website (link below).

Horned Larks, Loggerhead Shrikes, Field Sparrows and Upland Sandpipers are found here. A bird checklist is available at the DNR website (link below).

There are no maintained trails or facilities.

I found this book to be really informative and it's available to read online
Two Prairies, One Place; A Historical Geography of the Kasota Prairie by Bob Douglas
https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/twopraries/

Visits
Mid-May 2021
We arrived about 12:30 and hiked from the parking area almost to the back end of the property - jogging a little south at one point. We saw Turkey Vultures, American Goldfinch, Eastern Meadowlark and a Field Sparrow was singing incessantly. We also spotted an American Goldfinch. At one point, a larger bird flew over a bit south of us. I got a blurry photo and it looks like it could possibly have been a Peregrine Falcon. Plant life was still in the early stages. We did see Heart-leaf Golden Alexander but not much else was growing yet. Near the SNA we saw a Wild Turkey, Gray Catbird and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Even though there wasn't much growing (and not much insect life), I suspect it presents quite differently in the summer. I would be interested in revisiting it at some point.

We combined our trip to Kasota Prairie SNA with a stop at Kasota Prairie (Conservation Area) (.5 miles north) and Chamberlain Woods SNA (15 miles north).

Mid-August 2021:
We were in the area and wanted to see what the SNA was like in summer. As in all SNAs, there are no maintained trails and the poison ivy was pretty thick near the minimal footpaths. We photographed a few things along the road and headed off to Kasota Prairie Conservation Area just down the road where the trails are mowed. observed: Monarch Butterfly, Common Wood-Nymph Butterfly, Tree Swallows.

Useful links/info
location and parking: Township Road 140, Kasota MN
Access the area on Township Road 140 (367th Ave) from the south since the road terminates on its north end. There is a cluster of signs for the SNA on the east side of the road near the north end of the SNA property. One just pulls off the road near these signs.

Minnesota DNR Webpage
Wildlife Viewing Areas
DNR Bird Checklist for Kasota Prairie SNA
eBird hotspot reports
iNaturalist's Kasota Prairie SNA Open Space page
iNaturalist's Kasota Prairie SNA Point of Interest page