Minnesota

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

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.

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

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.

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

This state wildlife management area (WMA) along the Crow Wing River offers exceptional public recreation while providing significant water-quality benefits. Extending more than three miles along this major Mississippi River tributary, the WMA's mixed pine and hardwood forest is a great place to hunt, fish, observe wildlife, or go canoeing.

Located only 30 miles northeast of the Twin Cities, Crystal Spring Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) offers the region's 3.3 million residents a close-to-home opportunity to experience unique flora and fauna. Acquired with help from The Trust for Public Land in 2015, this 38-acre, state-owned SNA encompasses significant biodiversity, thriving communities of native plants, and habitat for several rare species of birds and plants. The SNA's dramatic geologic features include a scenic waterfall, steep rocky cliffs, a winding cold-water stream, thick old forests, and panoramic views of the National Wild and Scenic St. Croix River.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Trust for Public Land is working with landowners and communities to protect and preserve sensitive shoreline throughout the headwaters region, including around reservoirs and tributaries, helping to preserve high-quality habitat and recreation areas in the headwaters of our nation’s largest river.

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.