Minnesota

Mudro Lake, Superior National Forest, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Ely, MN

Photo credit: Darcy Kiefel

In Minnesota, The Trust for Public Land is creating city parks, conserving the natural resources of the Northwoods, and safeguarding the water quality of the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers.

Local offices

St. Paul

2610 University Avenue, Suite 300 | St. Paul, Minnesota 55114

Phone: (651) 917-2240 | Email Address: minnesota@tpl.org

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News/Articles

Conservation and Park Leadership Awards Announced

Stony Point Land Officially Added to Chippewa National Forest

Minnesota projects

Projects (sorted alphabetically):

Allemansratt Wilderness Park

In 2010, The Trust for Public Land protected an additional 64 acres for Allemansrätt Wilderness Park in Lindstrom. In 2014, we helped add the Lake Cabin, an emigrant house from the 1890s, and a 30-acre peninsula with beautiful lakefront views.

Blakeley Bluffs

The Trust for Public Land is working with the state Department of Natural Resources to protect 128 acres of Blakeley Bluffs as an addition to the Ney Wildlife Management Area.

Brainerd Lakes

In the Brainerd Lakes area, The Trust for Public Land led an effort to purchase a working forest conservation easement over 4,776 acres of prime forestland owned by the Potlatch Corporation.

Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary

The Trust for Public Land led the effort to transform a 27-acre industrial site located in St. Paul's East Side into a park and nature sanctuary in honor of late Congressman Bruce Vento.

Burntside Lake, Minnesota. Photo: Darcy Kiefel

Burntside Lake, Long Island

The Trust for Public Land purchased Long Island in Minnesota's Burntside Lake, at the headwaters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and across from Listening Point, which inspired conservation writer Sigurd Olson.

Camp Ojiketa

TPL helped project Camp Ojiketa, a popular camp area, as a regional park, owned and managed by Chisago City.

Caponi Art Park

Artists Anthony and Cheryl Caponi created a unique "art park" on their 60 acres of rolling meadows and woodlands in the Twin Cities suburb of Eagan, Minnesota.

Cedar Creek

TPL has helped protect over 500 acres across from the existing 434-acre Rum River Central Regional Park that will eventually open as the Cedar Creek Conservation Area in Anoka County.

Columbus Lake Conservation Area

The Trust for Public Land helped create a new conservation area in northeast Anoka County—providing sport hunters with a new outdoor resource just 20 minutes from the Twin Cities

Dead Lake

For years, a battle raged between local conservation-minded landowners and would-be developers of over 260 acres of Dead Lake shoreline. Proposed development included 151 residential housing units, a general store, a restaurant, two swimming pools, a marina, and mooring facilities.

Dora Lake Wildlife Management Area

In fall of 2011, The Trust for Public Land conveyed 510 acres near the headwaters of the Cannon River to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which will be managed as the new Dora Lake Wildlife Management Area.

East Rush Lake Wildlife and Aquatic Management Area

TPL helped conserve 670-acres for the East Rush Lake Wildlife and Aquatic Management Area in rapidly growing Chisago County.

Franconia Bluffs Scientific and Natural Area

Conservationists had been keeping a close watch on the nearly 50 acres overlooking the St. Croix River valley and the village of Franconia, when TPL stepped in to work with partners in the Metro Conservation Corridors program, which protects natural areas and water quality in the rapidly developing metro region in Chisago County.

Frogtown Park and Farm

In 2013, we worked with the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation to secure 12.7 acres in the heart of the neighborhood and transfer it to the city. Now, we're raising funds to help transform the site into a recreation area, nature sanctuary, and demonstration farm operated by local nonprofit Frogtown Farm.

Listening Point and Long Island on Burntside Lake, Boundary Waters, MN

Gaul Island

In 2013 The Trust for Public Land protected Gaul Island as an addition to the Burntside Islands Scientific and Natural Area. Like Long Island, which we helped protect in 2008, the island is part of the viewshed from Sigurd Olson's historic Listening Point.

Grand Marais Harbor Park

Nestled on the rugged North Shore of Lake Superior, the village of Grand Marais has provided a unique and inspirational setting for recreation, the arts, and community gatherings for generations of residents and visitors. In 2001, we helped the community realize its dream of a unified and protected public shoreline along the city's historic harbor.

Gray's Bay, Lake Minnetonka

Since the 1980s, public agencies and recreationists have sought to improve public access to Lake Minnetonka, a popular boating and fishing lake 15 minutes from downtown Minneapolis. Several years ago, the owner of the private Gray's Bay Marina and Resort decided to retire.

Green space along the Metro Trail light rail lines.

Greening the Green Line

The Trust for Public Land is leading a collaborative effort to integrate new parks and green space into the communities along the Green Line, an 11-mile light-rail corridor that will run between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Koochiching and George Washington State Forests

For generations, the private timberlands of Minnesota's Northwoods have supported jobs, provided wildlife habitat and clean water, offered recreation to local residents, and attracted millions of visitors each year. But as rising land values make land more valuable as real estate than timberland, land is being broken up and sold for second-home development.

Kremer Lake

The Trust for Public Land is working to protect 43 acres wedged between Kremer Lake and the Edge of the Wilderness Scenic Byway in the heart of northern Minnesota's Chippewa National Forest.

La Salle Lake

La Salle Lake is Minnesota's second-deepest lake. In October 2011, The Trust for Public Land helped conserve 1,000 acres surrounding the lake, creating connections between existing public lands.

Lester Lake

TPL worked with the state and local partners to secure funding that ensures the permanent protection of Lester Lake in Minnesota's North Woods.

Lost Valley Prairie Scientific and Natural Area

For years volunteers in Minnesota's Scientific Natural Area program hoped to see this 120-acre "botanist's delight" in Washington County protected.

Minneapolis Community Gardens

The Trust for Public Land worked with two local nonprofits—The Sustainable Resources Center and The Green Institute—to permanently protect these gardens.

Mississippi River Northwoods Habitat Complex, MN

Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers

TPL's Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers program works to protect or reclaim lands along the main stem of the rivers to provide important recreational resources, safeguard drinking water, and support critical habitat.

Mississippi River Northwoods Habitat Complex

For several years, The Trust for Public Land and several partner organizations helped protect this property, linking it to nearby conservation lands, and creating a nine mile stretch of protected land along the river.

Nisswa Lake

TPL helped protect Nisswa Lake, part of the 13,000-acre Gull Lake Chain, a popular fishing, boating, and swimming destination in the central part of the state.

Park at Griggs Street

The Trust for Public Land recently purchased five acres near Skyline Tower and transferred the parcels to the City of St. Paul. In the coming years, we will help guide the community through the process of designing, funding, and building a brand new, much-needed park.

Parks for People–Twin Cities

Our Parks for People program protects land in communities throughout Minnesota.

Pike Lake

When highway construction threatened Pike Lake, a haven for wildlife and a popular recreation spot, the city of Prior Lake asked The Trust for Public Land for help.

Pilot Knob

Native Dakota people once performed ceremonies on this hill overlooking the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers in the Twin Cities suburb of Mendota Heights.

Pine Bend Bluffs, Minnesota. Photo: Tom Evers

Pine Bend Bluffs Scientific and Natural Area

Along the Mississippi River in Inver Grove Heights, TPL continues to secure key properties that compose the Pine Bend Bluffs Scientific and Natural Area.

Pipestone National Monument

TPL helped add land to the Pipestone National Monument, a unit of the National Park Service that protects archaeological resources and natural features such as Winnewissa Falls on Pipestone Creek.

Prairie Creek Wildlife Management Area

To ensure that everyone can their property as a wildlife haven, the Koester family worked with The Trust for Public Land and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to transform 460 acres of their land into the Prairie Creek Wildlife Management Area.

Quarry Park, Minnesota. Photo: Tom Evers

Quarry Park and Nature Preserve

The region around St. Cloud holds some of the fastest growing communities in Minnesota. At the edge of this sprawling region, Quarry Park and Nature Preserve offers rich history, diverse resources, and a variety of recreational activities, including SCUBA diving, rock climbing, cross-country skiing, and trout fishing.

Root River

This Olmsted County park protects a section of the historic Root River stagecoach trail, preserves a biologically significant area, and creates new recreation opportunities.

Sabo Farm

When Harold and Doris Sabo approached retirement, they decided to sell their 2,500-acre Clearwater County farm bordering the Red Lake Chippewa Reservation in northern Minnesota.

Savage Fen Scientific and Natural Area

Thirty minutes southwest of the Twin Cities, Savage Fen Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) is an ecological treasury that became almost 70 acres richer in late 2010.

St. Paul's Priory, Minnesota. Photo: Linda Huhn

St. Paul Priory

In 1960, the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict purchased a rolling glacial moraine in Maplewood as site for a college and retirement home. For four decades the land remained open as Maplewood expanded and developers sought to purchase the property.