Lac qui Parle County

515 acres

Map with GPS coordinates

County Highway 15 dead end
N45 12.126, W96 14.882
(see Comments below)

County Highway 15
N45 11.819, W96 15.264

Pyramid WMA
N45 12.457, W96 14.894

None

No hunting

Province

Prairie Parkland Province

Section

North Central Glaciated Plains

Subsection(s)

Minnesota River Prairie

Land Type Association(s)

Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway

The Nature Conservancy

Plover Prairie

Parking
The Nature Conservancy Web page for this location does not suggest where to park. The roads bordering this site are very narrow gravel roads with no shoulders. Meeting a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction would be an adventure. There is no room anywhere to park on the shoulder. A visitor has three options for parking.

1. There is a large, brown, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) sign near the road headed north labeled County Highway 15 on the MinnesotaSeasons.com map (above). It is a gravel road with a Dead End sign at the intersection. Next to the TNC sign there is a ditch crossing. Drive across the ditch crossing and park next to the sign (see Parking photo below).
2. There is a ditch crossing on the south border of the preserve on the east-west road that is also labeled County Highway 15 on the map. Park on or just beyond the ditch crossing.
3. Pyramid Wildlife Management Area (WMA) borders part of the preserve on the north. Follow the dead end road to where it ends. On the right the road is gated and leads to a private farm. On the left is a small, grassy parking lot for the WMA. Park here and walk south on the road to the ditch crossing mentioned above.

Recent Expansion
In 2012, The Nature Conservancy purchased a 240-acre parcel that connects the east and west units of the preserve.

Click on a visitor name below (if any) to view that visitor’s observations.

Click on the button to share your own observations.

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

Threatened – Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor)

Special concern – American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), Greater Prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido), Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa), Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

One insect species with protected status in Minnesota is found here:

Threatened – Dakota skipper (Hesperia dacotae)

Two mammal species with protected status in Minnesota are found here:

Special concern – plains pocket mouse (Perognathus flavescens), prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster)

Other mammals seen on this site, along with those listed below, include northern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster), western harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis), coyote (Canis latrans thamnos), and American badger (Taxidea taxus jacksoni).

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

Special concern – disk water-hyssop (Bacopa rotundifolia), flexile milkvetch (Astragalus flexuosus), small white lady’s slipper (Cypripedium candidum), velvety goldenrod (Solidago mollis), water mudwort (Limosella aquatica)

University of Minnesota Herbarium Plant List

Plants frequently found in:

Mesic Prairie (Southern) UPs23a