Pine Bend Bluffs SNA

Overview
Photos
Slideshows
Videos
Sightings


	About

	Ownership


	Links
	Minnesota DNR Friends of the Mississippi River Katharine Ordway Natural History Study Area

	Overview


	History
	This SNA was dedicated on October 6, 2004.

	Management
	In the spring of 2006 the Friends of the Mississippi River sowed little bluestem seed on recently-cleared prairie north of the small pond.

	Comments


	Location

	Maps
	Detail map (MN DNR)

	Printable Map(s) with GPS coordinates
	Complete


	North Unit		South Unit


	Size
	315.43 (256 acres reported) North Unit: 200 acres South Unit: 115 acres

	Parking
	N44 47.293, W93 1.887


	Driving Directions
	Get driving directions from Google Maps to this destination from any address, and send those directions to your phone. Your Address (street address and either city and state or ZIP code)

					Dakota County
					Metro Area


	Activities

	Hiking Trails
	In 2012, construction began on the Pine Bend Bluffs segment of the Mississippi River Regional Trail (MRRT), which passes through the SNA. The MMRT is a paved bike trail that will eventually connect Hastings and South St. Paul. Construction of the Pine Bend Bluffs segment was completed in the summer of 2013.

	Hunting
	No hunting


	Ecology

	Ecological Classification
	Ecological Province			Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province
	Ecological Section			Minnesota & NE Iowa Morainal
	Ecological Subsection			Oak Savanna St. Paul-Baldwin Plains and Moraines
	Land Type Association			Coates Sand Plain Pig’s Eye Alluvial Plain Wescott Moraine

	Native Plant Communities*
	Black Ash - (Red Maple) Seepage Swamp Dry Sand - Gravel Prairie (Southern) Red Oak - White Oak Forest White Pine - Oak Woodland (Sand)
	* Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources

	Natural Features


Visitor Photos

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Kirk Nelson

Parking area and Shelter


Signs



Crystal Boyd





MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

Parking

	2008		2010


	2012

Wood Routed Sign


The Pond


Overlook


Prairie




Red Oak - White Oak Forest


Fire Break


Mississippi River

Camera


	Slideshows


	Pine Bend Bluffs SNA minnesota_snas

	About Find stunning views from 200 foot bluffs overlooking the Mississippi at this SNA, one of the least disturbed sites along the river in the Twin Cities. Dry to mesic oak forests dominate the site's rugged terrain, complemented by stands of white pine on north-facing slopes, dry prairies on south- and east-facing slopes, and black ash seepage swamp at the river's edge. Numerous rare species find appropriate habitat, among them James' polanisia and butternut (both MN endangered), kitten-tails (MN threatened), and red-shouldered hawk (MN Special Concern).



	Pine Bend Bluffs - SNA Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR)

	About By Tom Reiter



	July 26, 2018 • Pine Bend Bluffs Invasive Species Pull Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR)




	Pine Bend Bluff SNA Madison Douthitt

	About Pine Bend Bluff SNA



	October 27, 2018 • Pine Bend Brush Haul at FHR Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR)

	About Volunteers helped haul buckthorn from Pine Bend Bluffs at FHR.



	Pine Bend Bluff Pronghorn Touring

slideshow


	Visitor Videos

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	Other Videos


	Pine Bend Bluffs Scientific and Natural Area Virtual Hike Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

	About Dec 7, 2020 Enjoy a short hike in the Metro area along the Mississippi River, at Pine Bend Bluffs SNA! Stand on the 200 foot bluffs overlooking the Mississippi on this SNA, one of the least disturbed sites along the river in the Twin Cities with native prairie, oak forest, white pine woodland and floodplain forest. It is also a great spot to bird watch during migration seasons. mndnr.gov/snas/sna0203



	Goats at Pine Bend Bluffs FlintHillsResources1

	About Goats at Pine Bend Bluffs Grazing goats are delivered to the Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount, MN as part of an innovative new approach for maintaining and restoring natural habitat.



	Pine Bend Bluffs Project - Flint Hills and FMR EastEndPro

	About Uploaded on Nov 17, 2011 No description available.

Camcorder

Visitor Sightings

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Crystal Boyd

Insects and Arachnids

eastern tailed-blue (Cupido comyntas)

green-striped grasshopper (Chortophaga viridifasciata)

Plants

blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium sp.)

common chickweed (Stellaria media)

creeping charlie (Glechoma hederacea)

dandelions (Taraxacum officinale)

golden alexander (Zizia auria)

hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canescens)

jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

pussytoes (Antennaria sp.)

wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)

winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris)

yellow wood sorrel (Oxalis stricta)

Robert Briggs

Plants

Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota ssp. carota)

MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings


Visits
4/4/2006	8/11/2008	7/2/2010	12/13/2012	4/11/2015

Amphibians

Ameroasian treefrogs (Dryophytes spp.)

boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata)

northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens)

Birds

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

Special Concern

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri)

Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)

Purple Martin (Progne subis)

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)

Minnesota DNR Bird checklist

eBird Field Checklist

American Coot (Fulica americana)

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Eastern Wood-peewee (Contopus virens)

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus)

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

Plants


Five plant species with conservation status in Minnesota are found here:
Endangered	butternut (Juglans cinerea) James’ polanisia (Polanisia jamesii)
Threatened	beaked skeletonweed (Shinnersoseris rostrata) disk water-hyssop (Bacopa rotundifolia) kitten-tails (Veronica bullii)