Minnesota

Named for the woodlands that once covered 2 million acres of south-central Minnesota, the Big Woods Heritage Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is part of a larger effort to protect and recover native habitats for wildlife and recreation in this much-changed region. 

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.

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

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.

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 and beautiful views of the National Wild and Scenic St. Croix River. Acquired and created 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.

Located in Le Sueur County between Gorman Lake and Lake Olney, Factor State Wildlife Management Area (WMA) provides rich habitat for waterfowl, deer, pheasant and turkeys. The Trust for Public Land acquired and conveyed 53 acres to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to enlarge the WMA.

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.

In 2018, The Trust for Public Land added 116 acres near Howard Lake to the Grass Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Wright County, Minnesota, within an hour’s drive of Twin Cities’ residents. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources manages WMAs for wildlife habitat and public recreation.

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.

The Trust for Public Land recently announced the protection of Gusty Island in Burntside Lake, a deep freshwater fishery, completing a chain of nearly three miles of protected islands.

The Trust for Public Land recently protected 118 acres as an addition to the Janet Johnson Memorial Wildlife Management Area located in Chisago County. The protected property consists of wetland and forested habitat, and also contains about 35 acres of agricultural land that will be restored to prairie.

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.

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.

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

In two separate acquisitions, The Trust for Public Land has added 480 acres to the Choice Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and protected a mile of Heritage Brook Trout stream, Maple Creek. Bluffs with oak savannah overlook the South Fork of the Root River—one of the best trout streams in the Midwest. Species calling the land home including deer and turkey, and the WMA provides excellent opportunities for public hunting, fishing, hiking, and wildlife observation.

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 Minnesota's 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.

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.

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.

When we asked people who live, work, and play in Northside Minneapolis what kind of fitness area they might like, they told us: something unique that could be used by neighbors of different ages, and that was social, encouraging interaction with others. They also wanted it to look and feel like it had been made in the community, rather than on an assembly line. The result is the People-powered carousel, a merry-go-round driven by the people who pedal it.

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.

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.

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.

The Sissabagamah Creek property, located along the Mississippi River in Aitkin County, provides critical wildlife habitat, as well as much-needed close-to-home public access to hunting, fishing, and wildlife observation. This 215 acre addition to the Aitkin County Forest includes approximately 1.25 miles of shoreline and the mouth of Sissabagamah Creek. This project was completed as part of the Mississippi Headwaters sub-program under the Minnesota’s Rivers program.

Spanning the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin, the St. Croix River is one of the nation’s first federally designated Wild and Scenic Rivers and is home to a diverse abundance of native flora and fauna, rivaling any other location within the great Upper Mississippi River Basin. While the status of the St. Croix as a Wild and Scenic River comes with federal protections, it only applies to a thin ribbon of land directly adjacent to the riverway and more than 75% of the of the watershed remains in private ownership and under threat of development, fragmentation, and conversion to agriculture is substantial.

To the delight of local anglers, boaters, campers, skiers, snowmobilers, and conservationists, The Trust for Public Land has protected 40 pristine acres along Leech Lake, including a half mile of shoreline, as an addition to Chippewa National Forest.

Only a short drive down Interstate 35 from the Twin Cities, the new Sunktokeca Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) offers millions of Minnesotans opportunities for close-to-home recreation, including high-quality hunting for waterfowl, deer, pheasant and turkeys.

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.

The Trust for Public Land helped protect this now-rare remnant of the Big Woods ecosystem that once dominated the southeastern third of Minnesota.

A 60-acre gem located in Lake Vermilion's Wolf Bay, Wolf Island is a place of legend and lore, with historical ties to both Native Americans and Voyageurs.