Minnesota

The Big Rivers program works to protect or reclaim lands within the Mississippi, St. Croix and Minnesota Rivers watersheds to provide important recreational resources, safeguard drinking water, and support critical habitat.

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.

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.

The Trust for Public Land is working to conserve critical habitat around the Cannon River, less than an hour’s drive south of the Twin Cities. This region has recently suffered loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitat due to development and intensive agriculture.

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.

Located only 30 miles southwest of Minneapolis, in Lake Waconia, "Coney Island of the West" is a relic of the days gone when city dwellers vacationed at nearby lake resorts. Beginning in the late 19th century, hotels, cabins, and dancehalls on the island attracted visitors from near and far. Today, only the crumbled remnants of these structures remain, overwhelmed by resurgent nature.

Crow Wing State Forest South Addition, in the Brainerd Lakes region, is a popular recreation area that also provides critical habitat for wildlife. Particularly important, for both recreation and wildlife, is land along the Mississippi River, which threads the state forest.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

This property is situated within the artic watershed just a few miles south of the Canadian border and surrounded by the Boundary Waters, the most visited wilderness area in the country. After more than a decade of work with The Trust for Public Land, and with funding from the Leuthold Wilderness Foundation, Jim and Judy Brandenburg created an iconic place for all when they protected this unbroken stretch of hundreds of acres of wild land surrounding beautiful Judd 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.

Located just north of the town of Franconia, the new Lawrence Creek Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) protects natural features and rare resources of exceptional scientific and educational value. Created with The Trust for Public Land's help in 2017, the new 72-acre SNA features a mature hardwood forest of maples and oaks along a crystalline creek that flows, less than a mile downstream, into the Wild & Scenic Lower St. Croix River. The new SNA will provide excellent opportunities for nature study, outdoor education, scientific research, and other non-motorized recreation. Visitors are welcome to hike, ski, or snowshoe on the land. Limited hunting is allowed.

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

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.

In the 400 miles below its origin at Lake Itasca, the Mississippi River provides habitat for fish and other wildlife, hosts annual waves of migratory waterfowl, and is a favorite destination for hunting, fishing, birding, boating, and hiking. Much of the land along this stretch of the river is privately owned and subject to development or conversion to agriculture.

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.

The Trust for Public Land works with communities large and small to put a park, trail, or natural area within a 10-minute walk of every Twin Cities resident. At The Trust for Public Land we work to ensure that everyone has equitable access to the multiple benefits of parks and natural space.

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.

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

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

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.

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. 

TPL helped protect the Sugar Hills property, which contains a popular ski trail system, clear water creeks, a 14-acre lake, and "Big Thunder Peak," one of the state's highest named summits.

Looking for a new area to explore? Lace up your hiking boots, grab your fishing pole, and head to beautiful Upper Cullen Lake, a favorite outdoor destination only a few hours northwest of the Twin Cities. The Trust for Public Land helped Crow Wing County conserve 146 acres at Upper Cullen Lake, including 2600 feet of lakeshore and a cold-water stream—land now open to public hiking, fishing, and hunting.

Victoria Lake, along the Wild and Scenic Ontonagon River on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, is a favored destination for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and boating. Much of the land in this outdoor paradise is protected in Ottawa National Forest, but in other places, private parcels block public access, threaten water pollution, and complicate management of the national forest.

Located only 40 miles from the core of the Twin Cities, this new 335-acre conservation area provides unparalleled opportunities for natural recreation to the region’s 3.3 million residents.