Anna Gronseth Prairie

 
 
     
 
About
 
 

Ownership

 
 

The Nature Conservancy logo

 
     
 

Links

 
 

The Nature Conservancy

 
     
 

Overview

 
 

 

 
     
 

History

 
 

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) purchased 160 acres from Anna Gronseth in November, 1973, and named it Anna Gronseth Prairie. Between December, 1973 and March, 1999, THC made at least seven more acquisitions, each time enlarging this preserve. In 1993 TNC transferred a 648 acre parcel to the Minnesota DNR which became the Akron 4 Unit of the Rothsay Wildlife Management Area.

 
     
 

Management

 
 

 

 
     
 

Comments

 
 

 

 
     
 
Location
 
 

Maps

 
 

 

 
         
 

Printable Map(s) with GPS coordinates

 
  Printable map      
         
 

Size

 
 

1,299 acres

 
         
 

Parking

 
 

There is no designated parking spot. Park along the shoulder of the road on 290th Ave. Do not block the nearby field access. It is not part of the preserve.

N46 25.433, W96 23.127

 
         
 

Driving Directions

  Area and County  
 

Get driving directions from Google Maps to this destination from any address, and send those directions to your phone.

   
          Wilkin County  
          Northwest Minnesota  
     
 
Activities
 
 

Hiking Trails

 
 

No maintained trails

 
     
 

Hunting

 
 

No hunting

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Ecological Classification

  Ecological Classification  
  Ecological Province    

Prairie Parkland Province

   
  Ecological Section    

Red River Valley

   
  Ecological Subsection    

Red River Prairie

   
  Land Type Association    

Barnesville Beach Complex

   
             
 

Native Plant Communities*

   
 

Calcareous Fen (Northwestern)

Saline Wet Prairie Complex

Seepage Wetland Complex

Wet Prairie (Northern)

   
  * Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources      
         
 

Natural Features

     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waterproof footwear recommended

To get from the parking spot to the main portion of the preserve visitors will need to cross an intermittent stream and a drainage ditch. Many areas of the saline wet prairie complex will have some standing water in wet years, as in 2015. Waterproof footwear is recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

Rotten Egg Smell

In oxygen-poor environments, like wetlands, anaerobic bacteria reduce organic matter releasing as byproducts methane, which is odorless, and hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs. A rotten egg smell was conspicuous on a part of the saline wet prairie complex during a visit there in June, 2015.

           
 
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Parking

 
 

Park on the shoulder of the road. Do not park on the ditch crossing, as I did here. Though the landowner was kind enough to allow me to park here on this day, he needs this ditch crossing unblocked to access his field.

  Anna Gronseth Prairie  
           
    Anna Gronseth Prairie      
           
 

Saline Wet Prairie Complex

 
    Anna Gronseth Prairie   Anna Gronseth Prairie  
           
    Anna Gronseth Prairie      
           
 

Wet Prairie (Northern)

 
    Anna Gronseth Prairie      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
 
     
     

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

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Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

Visits

8/18/2010   6/23/2015            
 
 

Amphibians

 
  American toad (Anaxyrus americanus)   American toad  
 

Birds

 
 

Five bird species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:

Threatened

Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor)

Special Concern

Greater Prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido)

Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)

Nelson’s Sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni)

Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis)

 
 

Pine to Prairie Birding Trail

eBird Field Checklist

 
 

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)

Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida)

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum)

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda)

 

Bald Eagle

Red-winged Blackbird

Song Sparrow

 
 

Insects and Arachnids

 
 

One insect and arachnid species with conservation status in Minnesota has been seen here:

Special Concern

regal fritillary (Argynnis idalia)

 
 

American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis)

cabbage white (Pieris rapae)

goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis)

monarch (Danaus plexippus)

swamp milkweed leaf beetle (Labidomera clivicollis)

  monarch  
 

Mammals

 
 

plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius)

whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

  plains pocket gopher  
 

Plants

 
 

Five plant species with conservation status in Minnesota are found here:

Threatened

short ray fleabane (Erigeron lonchophyllus)

Special Concern

deer sedge (Carex hallii)

pleated gentian (Gentiana affinis)

Rydberg’s sunflower (Helianthus nuttallii ssp. rydbergii)

small white lady’s slipper (Cypripedium candidum)

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and Minnesota Biological Survey Vegetation Releves Plant List

 
 

Plants frequently found in:

Calcareous Fen (Northwestern) OPp93a

Wet Prairie (Northern) WPn53c

     
 

 

alfalfa (Medicago sativa ssp. sativa)

American bugleweed (Lycopus americanus)

bald spikerush (Eleocharis erythropoda)

black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima)

Canada anemone (Anemonastrum canadense)

Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense)

common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale)

common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)

common rush (Juncus effusus)

common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

curly dock (Rumex crispus)

dwarf false indigo (Amorpha nana)

Flodman’s thistle (Cirsium flodmanii)

foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum ssp. jubatum)

golden alexanders (Zizia aurea)

golden ragwort (Packera aurea)

heart-leaved golden alexanders (Zizia aptera)

hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium)

hemlock water-parsnip (Sium suave)

hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canescens)

Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum)

leadplant (Amorpha canescens)

marsh skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata)

marsh vetchling (Lathyrus palustris)

Maximilian’s sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani)

mountain death camas (Anticlea elegans var. elegans)

narrow-leaved cattail (Typha angustifolia)

needle-tip blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium mucronatum)

northern bedstraw (Galium boreale)

pale agoseris (Agoseris glauca var. glauca)

Philadelphia fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus var. philadelphicus)

plumeless thistle (Carduus acanthoides ssp. acanthoides)

prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya var. pycnostachya)

prairie fleabane (Erigeron strigosus)

prairie rose (Rosa arkansana)

prairie smoke (Geum triflorum var. triflorum)

prairie turnip (Pediomelum esculentum)

purple meadow-rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum)

red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea ssp. sericea)

reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea)

Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia)

seaside arrowgrass (Triglochin maritima)

Seneca snakeroot (Polygala senega)

silverweed (Argentina anserina ssp. anserina)

smooth scouring rush (Equisetum laevigatum)

spotted water hemlock (Cicuta maculata)

starry false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum)

stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida ssp. rigida)

swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata ssp. incarnata)

swamp thistle (Cirsium muticum)

western ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya)

wild mint (Mentha arvensis)

wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia)

wolfberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis)

wood betony (Pedicularis canadensis ssp. canadensis)

woolly sedge (Carex pellita)

yellow goat’s beard (Tragopogon dubius)

yellow star grass (Hypoxis hirsuta)

yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis)

 

Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)

Agoseris glauca var. glauca (pale agoseris)

Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)

Ambrosia psilostachya (western ragweed)

Amorpha canescens (leadplant)

Amorpha nana (dwarf false indigo)

Anemonastrum canadense (Canada anemone)

Anticlea elegans var. elegans (mountain death camas)

Apocynum cannabinum (Indian hemp)

Argentina anserina ssp. anserina (silverweed)

Asclepias incarnata ssp. incarnata (swamp milkweed)

Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed)

Carduus acanthoides (plumeless thistle)

Carex pellita (woolly sedge)

Cicuta maculata (spotted water hemlock)

Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle)

Cirsium flodmanii (Flodman’s thistle)

Cirsium muticum (swamp thistle)

Cornus sericea ssp. sericea (red osier dogwood)

Elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian olive)

Eleocharis erythropoda (bald spikerush)

Equisetum laevigatum (smooth scouring rush)

Erigeron philadelphicus var. philadelphicus (Philadelphia fleabane)

Erigeron strigosus (prairie fleabane)

Galium boreale (northern bedstraw)

Geum triflorum var. triflorum (prairie smoke)

Helianthus maximiliani (Maximilian’s sunflower)

Hordeum jubatum ssp. jubatum (foxtail barley)

Hypoxis hirsuta (yellow star grass)

Juncus effusus (common rush)

Lathyrus palustris (marsh vetchling)

Liatris pycnostachya var. pycnostachya (prairie blazing star)

Lithospermum canescens (hoary puccoon)

Lycopus americanus (American bugleweed)

Maianthemum stellatum (starry false Solomon’s seal)

Medicago sativa ssp. sativa (alfalfa)

Melilotus officinalis (yellow sweet clover)

Mentha arvensis (wild mint)

Packera aurea (golden ragwort)

Pedicularis canadensis ssp. canadensis (wood betony)

Pediomelum esculentum (prairie turnip)

Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass)

Polygala senega (Seneca snakeroot)

Rosa arkansana (prairie rose)

Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan)

Rumex crispus (curly dock)

Scutellaria galericulata (marsh skullcap)

Sisyrinchium mucronatum (needle-tip blue-eyed-grass)

Sium suave (hemlock water-parsnip)

Solidago rigida ssp. rigida (stiff goldenrod)

Symphoricarpos occidentalis (wolfberry)

Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale (common dandelion)

Thalictrum dasycarpum (purple meadow-rue)

Tragopogon dubius (yellow goat’s beard)

Triglochin maritima (seaside arrowgrass)

Typha angustifolia (narrow-leaved cattail)

Verbesina alternifolia (wingstem)

Zizia aptera (heart-leaved golden alexanders)

Zizia aurea (golden alexanders)

 

black-eyed susan

Canada anemone

common dandelion

Flodman’s thistle

golden alexanders

hedge bindweed

hoary puccoon

leadplant

mountain death camas (var. elegans)

pale agoseris

prairie smoke

prairie rose

spotted water hemlock

swamp milkweed

swamp thistle

wood betony

yellow sweet clover

 

 

 

Binoculars

 

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