Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA

 

 

About

Ownership

Minnesota DNR logo

 

Links

Minnesota DNR

 

Overview

 

 

History

 

 

Management

 

 

Comments

 

Location

Size

80 acres

 

Driving Directions

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  Area and County
    County   Brown County
    Region   Southwest Minnesota

Parking

Park on a field access just north of the wood routed sign.
N44 11.996, W94 31.960

 

Maps

 

 

Printable Map(s) with GPS coordinates

Printable map    
Activities

Hiking

Birding

Nature photography

Cross country skiing

Snowshoeing

 

Trails

No maintained trails

 

Hunting and Fishing

All hunting and trapping. See Hunting and Trapping Regulations (MN DNR) for details.

Ecology

Ecological Classification

  Ecological Classification
Ecological Province Ecological Province  

Prairie Parkland Province

 
Ecological Section Ecological Section  

North Central Glaciated Plains

 
Ecological Subsection Ecological Subsection  

Minnesota River Prairie

 
Land Type Association    

Grogan Sand Plain

 
         

Native Plant Communities*

 

Bulrush Marsh (Prairie)

Mesic Prairie (Southern)

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

Natural Features

   

 

 

 

 

 

Visitor Photos
 

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David Ayer

Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA  

 

Kirk Nelson

Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA   Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA
     
Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA   Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA
     
Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA    
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA   Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA

Park on a field access just north of the wood routed sign

  Wood routed sign – 2005
     
Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA   Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA

Wood routed sign – 2014

  Wood routed sign – 2019
     
Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA   Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA

Mesic Prairie (Southern)

     
Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA   Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA

Other prairie

     
Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA

Other prairie

 

Camera

Slideshows

Joseph A. Tauer Prairie Scientific and Natural Area
Brian

Joseph A. Tauer Prairie Scientific and Natural Area
About

A wonderful mesic and wet/mesic prairie remnant preserved by Joseph A. Tauer, a farmer in southern Minnesota. Click the link for further details.

Joseph A. Tauer Scientific and Natural Area

Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA
minnesota_snas

Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA
About

This prairie was owned by Joseph A. Tauer, whose personal philosophy of farming and choice of farming practices preserved the virgin prairie portions of this SNA. Tauer used only horses to farm until the 1980s. He limited his farming to the high, dry uplands of the several hundred acres of his holdings, leaving the low areas undisturbed, thus protecting their native vegetation. Upon his retirement, Tauer enrolled 80 acres of the land in a Prairie Bank easement program, later gifting the site to the state.

 

slideshow

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Visitor Sightings
 

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Kirk Nelson

Birds

Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)   whitetail deer

Plants

hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canescens)

prairie alumroot (Heuchera richardsonii)

  hoary puccoon

David Ayer

Plants

Canada Anemone (Anemonastrum canadense)

Indian Plantain

Prairie Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadriflora)

Rattlesnake Master

Turk's-Cap Lily (Lilium superbum)

Yellow Star Grass (Hypoxis hirsuta)

   
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings

Visits

9/8/2000

9/9/2005

7/26/2014

6/19/2019

Amphibians

American toad (Anaxyrus americanus)

northern leopard frog (Lithobates pipiens)

  American toad

Birds

Onr bird species with conservation status in Minnesota has been seen here:

Special Concern

Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)

Minnesota DNR Bird checklist

eBird Field Checklist

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor)

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

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)

Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)

Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis)

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

 

American Goldfinch

Brown-headed Cowbird

Eastern Kingbird

Insects and Arachnids

black flies (Family Simuliidae)

clouded sulphur (Colias philodice)

goldenrod bunch gall midge (Rhopalomyia solidaginis)

goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis)

midwestern salmonfly (Pteronarcys pictetii)

monarch (Danaus plexippus)

orange sulphur (Colias eurytheme)

painted lady (Vanessa cardui)

red admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus)

twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella)

widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)

 

midwestern salmonfly

painted lady

widow skimmer

Mammals

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Mammals List

plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius)   plains pocket gopher

Plants

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

Threatened

tuberous Indian plantain (Arnoglossum plantagineum)

Special Concern

rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium var. yuccifolium)

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and Minnesota Biological Survey Vegetation Releves Plant List

Plants frequently found in:

Bulrush Marsh (Prairie) MRp93a

Mesic Prairie (Southern) UPs23a

   

 

alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum)

American black currant (Ribes americanum)

American bugleweed (Lycopus americanus)

American elm (Ulmus americana)

American vetch (Vicia americana ssp. americana)

asparagus (asparagus officinalis)

Baltic rush (Juncus balticus var. littoralis)

bastard toadflax (Comandra umbellata ssp. umbellata)

big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi)

black medick (Medicago lupulina)

black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima)

black-seeded plantain (Plantago rugelii var. rugelii)

blue vervain (Verbena hastata)

bluejoint (Calamagrostis canadensis)

bluntleaf bedstraw (Galium obtusum ssp. obtusum)

boxelder (Acer negundo var. negundo)

broad-leaved cattail (Typha latifolia)

Buxbaum’s sedge (Carex buxbaumii)

Canada anemone (Anemonastrum canadense)

Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis)

Canadian horseweed (Erigeron canadensis)

Canadian tick-trefoil (Desmodium canadense)

candle anemone (Anemone cylindrica)

clammy groundcherry (Physalis heterophylla)

common blue violet (Viola sororia)

common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum var. perfoliatum)

common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)

common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale)

common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)

common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)

common sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)

common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Crawe’s sedge (Carex crawei)

Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum)

curly dock (Rumex crispus)

downy phlox (Phlox pilosa ssp. fulgida)

Dudley’s rush (Juncus dudleyi)

eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana)

Emory’s sedge (Carex emoryi)

falsegold groundsel (Packera pseudaurea var. semicordata)

field horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

flat-stemmed spike-rush (Eleocharis compressa)

four-flowered yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia quadriflora)

fowl bluegrass (Poa palustris)

fowl mannagrass (Glyceria striata)

fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea)

freeway sedge (Carex praegracilis)

giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea)

giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida)

giant sunflower (Helianthus giganteus)

golden alexanders (Zizia aurea)

grass-leaved goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia)

gray-headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)

great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica var. siphilitica)

green foxtail (Setaria viridis)

Hayden’s Sedge (Carex haydenii)

heart-leaved four o’clock (Mirabilis nyctaginea)

heart-leaved willow (Salix eriocephala)

hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium)

hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canescens)

hoary vervain (Verbena stricta)

Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum)

Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans)

June grass (Koeleria macrantha)

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis ssp. pratensis)

late goldenrod (Solidago altissima)

leadplant (Amorpha canescens)

leafy spurge (Euphorbia virgata)

little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)

marsh hedge nettle (Stachys palustris)

marsh vetchling (Lathyrus palustris)

Maximilian’s sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani)

meadow fescue (Schedonorus pratensis)

meadow garlic (Allium canadense var. canadense)

mountain death camas (Anticlea elegans)

narrow-leaved meadowsweet (Spiraea alba var. alba)

narrow-leaved purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia)

needleleaf sedge (Carex duriuscula)

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

northern bedstraw (Galium boreale)

northern blue flag (Iris versicolor)

northern bugleweed (Lycopus uniflorus)

northern plains blazing star (Liatris ligulistylis)

northern reed grass (Calamagrostis stricta ssp. inexpansa)

northern sweetgrass (Anthoxanthum hirtum)

northern water plantain (Alisma triviale)

panicled aster (Symphyotrichum lanceolatum)

peachleaf willow (Salix amygdaloides)

plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera)

porcupine grass (Hesperostipa spartea)

prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya var. pycnostachya)

prairie cordgrass (Sporobolus michauxianus)

prairie coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata)

prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)

prairie fleabane (Erigeron strigosus)

prairie ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata ssp. fasciculata)

prairie onion (Allium stellatum)

prairie rose (Rosa arkansana)

prairie willow (Salix humilis var. humilis)

prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola)

purple meadow-rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum)

purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea var. purpurea)

pussy willow (Salix discolor)

quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)

rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium var. yuccifolium)

red clover (Trifolium pratense)

red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea ssp. sericea)

redtop (Agrostis gigantea)

reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea)

Riddell’s goldenrod (Solidago riddellii)

rigid sedge (Carex tetanica)

rough blazing star (Liatris aspera)

rough oxeye (Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra)

round-headed bush clover (Lespedeza capitata)

sandbar willow (Salix interior)

Sartwell’s sedge (Carex sartwellii)

scarlet beeblossom (Oenothera suffrutescens)

showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)

sleepy catchfly (Silene antirrhina)

slender willow (Salix petiolaris)

smooth brome (Bromus inermis)

smooth scouring rush (Equisetum laevigatum)

southern blue flag (Iris virginica var. shrevei)

spiked lobelia (Lobelia spicata var. hirtella)

spotted spurge (Euphorbia maculata)

spotted water hemlock (Cicuta maculata)

stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida ssp. rigida)

swamp betony (Pedicularis lanceolata)

swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata ssp. incarnata)

switch grass (Panicum virgatum var. virgatum)

tall cinquefoil (Drymocallis arguta)

tuberous Indian plantain (Arnoglossum plantagineum)

veiny pea (Lathyrus venosus var. intonsus)

Virginia groundcherry (Physalis virginiana var. virginiana)

Virginia mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)

Virginia wildrye (Elymus virginicus)

water plantain (Alisma sp.)

water smartweed (Persicaria amphibia)

white heath aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides var. ericoides)

white prairie clover (Dalea candida var. candida)

white sweet clover (Melilotus albus)

white vervain (Verbena urticifolia)

whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)

wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

wild grape (Vitis riparia)

wild mint (Mentha arvensis)

wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

wood betony (Pedicularis canadensis ssp. canadensis)

woodbine (Parthenocissus vitacea)

woolly sedge (Carex pellita)

yellow goat’s beard (Tragopogon dubius)

yellow star grass (Hypoxis hirsuta)

yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis)

yellow wood sorrel (Oxalis stricta)

 

Acer negundo var. negundo (boxelder)

Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)

Agrostis gigantea (redtop)

Alisma sp. (water plantain)

Alisma triviale (northern water plantain)

Allium canadense var. canadense (meadow garlic)

Allium stellatum (prairie onion)

Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)

Ambrosia trifida (giant ragweed)

Amorpha canescens (leadplant)

Andropogon gerardi (big bluestem)

Anemonastrum canadense (Canada anemone)

Anemone cylindrica (candle anemone)

Anthoxanthum hirtum (northern sweetgrass)

Anticlea elegans (mountain death camas)

Apocynum cannabinum (Indian hemp)

Arnoglossum plantagineum (tuberous Indian plantain)

Asclepias incarnata ssp. incarnata (swamp milkweed)

Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)

Asclepias verticillata (whorled milkweed)

Asparagus officinalis (asparagus)

Bromus inermis (smooth brome)

Calamagrostis canadensis (bluejoint)

Calamagrostis stricta ssp. inexpansa (northern reed grass)

Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed)

Carex buxbaumii (Buxbaum’s sedge)

Carex crawei (Crawe’s sedge)

Carex duriuscula (needleleaf sedge)

Carex emoryi (Emory’s sedge)

Carex haydenii (Hayden’s Sedge)

Carex pellita (woolly sedge)

Carex praegracilis (freeway sedge)

Carex sartwellii (Sartwell’s sedge)

Carex tetanica (rigid sedge)

Carex vulpinoidea (fox sedge)

Cicuta maculata (spotted water hemlock)

Comandra umbellata ssp. umbellata (bastard toadflax)

Coreopsis palmata (prairie coreopsis)

Cornus sericea ssp. sericea (red osier dogwood)

Dalea candida var. candida (white prairie clover)

Dalea purpurea var. purpurea (purple prairie clover)

Desmodium canadense (Canadian tick-trefoil)

Drymocallis arguta (tall cinquefoil)

Echinacea angustifolia (narrow-leaved purple coneflower)

Eleocharis compressa (flat-stemmed spike-rush)

Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye)

Elymus virginicus (Virginia wildrye)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

Equisetum laevigatum (smooth scouring rush)

Erigeron canadensis (Canadian horseweed)

Erigeron strigosus (prairie fleabane)

Eryngium yuccifolium var. yuccifolium (rattlesnake master)

Eupatorium perfoliatum var. perfoliatum (common boneset)

Euphorbia maculata (spotted spurge)

Euphorbia virgata (leafy spurge)

Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod)

Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry)

Galium boreale (northern bedstraw)

Galium obtusum ssp. obtusum (bluntleaf bedstraw)

Glyceria striata (fowl mannagrass)

Helenium autumnale (common sneezeweed)

Helianthus giganteus (giant sunflower)

Helianthus maximiliani (Maximilian’s sunflower)

Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra (rough oxeye)

Hesperostipa spartea (porcupine grass)

Hypoxis hirsuta (yellow star grass)

Iris versicolor (northern blue flag)

Iris virginica var. shrevei (southern blue flag)

Juncus balticus var. littoralis (Baltic rush)

Juncus dudleyi (Dudley’s rush)

Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana (eastern redcedar)

Koeleria macrantha (June grass)

Lactuca serriola (prickly lettuce)

Lathyrus palustris (marsh vetchling)

Lathyrus venosus var. intonsus) (veiny pea)

Lespedeza capitata (round-headed bush clover)

Liatris aspera (rough blazing star)

Liatris ligulistylis (northern plains blazing star)

Liatris pycnostachya var. pycnostachya (prairie blazing star)

Lithospermum canescens (hoary puccoon)

Lobelia siphilitica var. siphilitica (great blue lobelia)

Lobelia spicata var. hirtella (spiked lobelia)

Lycopus americanus (American bugleweed)

Lycopus uniflorus (northern bugleweed)

Lysimachia quadriflora (four-flowered yellow loosestrife)

Medicago lupulina (black medick)

Melilotus albus (white sweet clover)

Melilotus officinalis (yellow sweet clover)

Mentha arvensis (wild mint)

Mirabilis nyctaginea (heart-leaved four o’clock)

Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot)

Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose)

Oenothera suffrutescens (scarlet beeblossom)

Solidago riddellii (Riddell’s goldenrod)

Oxalis stricta (yellow wood sorrel)

Packera pseudaurea var. semicordata (falsegold groundsel)

Panicum virgatum var. virgatum (switch grass)

Parthenocissus vitacea (woodbine)

Pedicularis canadensis ssp. canadensis (wood betony)

Pedicularis lanceolata (swamp betony)

Persicaria amphibia (water smartweed)

Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass)

Phlox pilosa ssp. fulgida (downy phlox)

Physalis heterophylla (clammy groundcherry)

Physalis virginiana var. virginiana (Virginia groundcherry)

Plantago rugelii var. rugelii (black-seeded plantain)

Poa palustris (fowl bluegrass)

Poa pratensis ssp. pratensis (Kentucky bluegrass)

Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera (plains cottonwood)

Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)

Pycnanthemum virginianum (Virginia mountain mint)

Ratibida pinnata (gray-headed coneflower)

Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn)

Ribes americanum (American black currant)

Rosa arkansana (prairie rose)

Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan)

Rumex crispus (curly dock)

Salix amygdaloides (peachleaf willow)

Salix discolor (pussy willow)

Salix eriocephala (heart-leaved willow)

Salix humilis var. humilis (prairie willow)

Salix interior (sandbar willow)

Salix petiolaris (slender willow)

Schedonorus pratensis (meadow fescue)

Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem)

Setaria viridis (green foxtail)

Silene antirrhina (sleepy catchfly)

Solidago altissima (late goldenrod)

Solidago canadensis (Canada goldenrod)

Solidago gigantea (giant goldenrod)

Solidago rigida ssp. rigida (stiff goldenrod)

Solidago speciosa (showy goldenrod)

Sorghastrum nutans (Indiangrass)

Spiraea alba var. alba (narrow-leaved meadowsweet)

Sporobolus heterolepis (prairie dropseed)

Sporobolus michauxianus (prairie cordgrass)

Stachys palustris (marsh hedge nettle)

Symphyotrichum ericoides var. ericoides (white heath aster)

Symphyotrichum lanceolatum (panicled aster)

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England aster)

Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale (common dandelion)

Thalictrum dasycarpum (purple meadow-rue)

Tragopogon dubius (yellow goat’s beard)

Trifolium hybridum (alsike clover)

Trifolium pratense (red clover)

Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)

Ulmus americana (American elm)

Verbena hastata (blue vervain)

Verbena stricta (hoary vervain)

Verbena urticifolia (white vervain)

Vernonia fasciculata ssp. fasciculata (prairie ironweed)

Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver’s root)

Vicia americana ssp. americana (American vetch)

Viola sororia (common blue violet)

Vitis riparia (wild grape)

Zizia aurea (golden alexanders)

 

alsike clover

American black currant

American vetch

black-eyed susan

blue vervain

Canada anemone

Canadian tick-trefoil

common blue violet

common boneset

common sneezeweed

Culver’s root

downy phlox

four-flowered yellow loosestrife

golden alexanders

gray-headed coneflower

heart-leaved four o’clock

hoary puccoon

hoary vervain

leadplant

leafy spurge

Maximilian’s sunflower

meadow garlic

narrow-leaved meadowsweet

New England aster

northern blue flag

prairie blazing star

prairie onion

purple prairie clover

rattlesnake master

red clover

round-headed bush clover

southern blue flag

swamp milkweed

tall cinquefoil

Virginia mountain mint

swamp smartweed

whorled milkweed

wild bergamot

wild mint

yellow star grass

 

 

Binoculars

 

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