By Heather Kuchinka

Drive southeast out of Hastings, Minnesota, and you’ll find a rare type of dry prairie that has survived since the early 1800s. Land use changes around the Sand Coulee, a naturally sparse basin created by glacial runoff, have altered the landscape and threatened rare species such as the sleek Blue Racer snake and the aptly named Sea-Beach Needle Grass. But because of the teamwork of a handful of property owners and conservation organizations, this unusual prairie is being returned to its pre-settlement condition and will be protected from encroaching species for years to come.

“We believe that keeping open spaces and preserving some of the few natural prairies left in the state is very important,” said Patrick Walker, a landowner involved in the project. “If nobody takes the initiative, then it’s all gone. I always remember that song, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.’ There’s a lot of truth in that.”

Sand Coulee landowners, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) have begun a stewardship project to remove non-native and invasive species and to encourage native species. FMR’s Restoration Ecologist Karen Schik said removing a lot of the trees and shrubs from the prairie will help the native plants get back to their former glory.

“There aren’t many woody species that belong there other than a few red cedar, lead plant and a couple of other small shrubs,” Schik said. “As trees become abundant, they shade out the prairie species. Birds will sit in the trees and drop seeds of other woody plants, especially buckthorn, and then you begin to see little islands of trees and shrubs growing where they shouldn’t be at all.”

According to historic survey maps, much of Dakota County was prairie at one time. But with less than one percent of native prairie remaining in Minnesota, ecologists have a special concern for the preservation of any prairie remnants, according to Tom Lewanski, Conservation Director at FMR.

“The Sand Coulee is really a living museum of what this area was like 200 years ago,” Lewanski said. “This group of landowners understands the significance of this prairie and is taking steps to manage it so that it will not only continue to provide habitat for the numerous plants and animals that live there, but will serve as a natural amenity for the residents of the area as well. They should be congratulated for their efforts to manage this wonderful area.”

The project began in 2001 when Schik developed a stewardship plan for the Sand Coulee, which was funded by a grant from the DNR’s Prairie Stewardship Planning Assistance Program. The project later received funding for management and restoration from the Metro Greenways Program at the DNR and landowner contributions, Schik said.

Although restoration activities began during the winter of 2004, landowners have already seen changes in the prairie.

“They’ve done a lot,” Walker said. “They’ve removed a lot of trees that would eventually turn it into a forest and opened it back up. They’ve already burned some brush during the winter months when there was snow cover to prevent the fire from spreading.”

Historically, fires were a necessary part of the dry prairie ecosystem, Schik explained. These naturally occurring disturbances did double duty in the prairie, both maintaining native vegetation and reducing trees and shrubs. As a tool for restoration, prescribed burns will be alternated between two halves of the 60 acres included in the project, she said.

“It’s good to leave part of the prairie unburned because it provides a refuge for plants and animals,” Schik said. “We also want to watch how rare species react to burning. We want to make sure that we provide a place for them.”

Regional Plant Ecologist Hannah Dunevitz is the project liaison for the DNR’s prairie stewardship program. Dunevitz said the benefit to restoring the Sand Coulee comes in the form of increased biological diversity.

“It possesses some extremely rare habitat types as well as rare plant species. It’s a real benefit because these kinds of extensions of habitat, away from the river, provide additional places for animals to go — such as migrating species,” Dunevitz said.

The Sand Coulee is more technically known as a dry barrens prairie, and it does have very sandy soil. The homes in the Sand Coulee are situated in a way that leaves large amounts of natural areas.

“We live at the edge of a valley overlooking the prairie,” Walker said. “It’s wild, there are animals — wild turkeys and deer, rabbits, eagles, hawks, coyotes — and we’re only three miles outside of Hastings. To have that open prairie area — it’s really unique and really cool.”

To the ecologists working on the stewardship project, the Sand Coulee landowners are a special group.

“There are a number of efforts like this where landowners are participating in protection efforts,” Dunevitz said. “In terms of landowners that are adjacent to each other that have a prairie stewardship plan … I don’t know of any others.”

While the Sand Coulee is privately owned, FMR offers occasional opportunities for small groups to tour the area or to participate in management tasks, such as seed collection. Contact us if you would like to be notified of future events.