Whose view? From where? — August 2009

Augusts view was correctly identified by two people – Tom Bell and Jason Husveth.

Tom Bell wrote,

Your August photo along the river is taken at Grey Cloud Dunes SNA. Photo taken from top of hill close to the 110th street parking area. Grey Cloud Dunes is a significant aquisition as it protected a unique habitat and preserved it from the development that was proposed for the area.

Indeed, you are right! The 237 acre Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) is managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The SNA program manages over 140 areas to ensure that no single rare feature is lost from any region of the state. Like other SNAs, Grey Cloud is open to the public, with some informal trails, but the public is required to tread lightly on the areas unique resources.

Donated to the state by Ashland Oil, the Dunes is located in the City of Cottage Grove. The site is one of only a few remianing sand-gravel prairies found in Minnesota. The prairie is home to several distinctive species. The DNR identifies species adapted to the prairie, including little bluestem, penstemon, prairie dropseed, sand reed grass, gramma grass, silky prairie clover, among others. Rare sea-beach needlegrass occurs in several of the blowouts; purple sand grass, on bare sand areas; Illinois tick trefoil and long-bearded hawkweed occur occasionally throughout the entire site. Louisiana broomrape and Hill's thistles are also found here. Blue racers, an uncommon Minnesota snake, and prairie skinks live here.

About Whose view? From where?

Each month in this section, we feature a photo somewhere along the river corridor in the Twin Cities that is in some way significant or important or just plain scenic. Individuals may then e-mail us and identify the view and explain why they believe it is significant to the community or important to them personally. Well publish some of your responses in the next issue of Mississippi Messages, where we will also reveal the correct answer.

To submit your guess and response, e-mail Bob Spaulding, River Advocate, through our contact form. The respondent to provide the first correct identification of the view and hopefully some interesting thoughts about its significance will receive a valuable prize for their effort. All entries must be received by the first day of the following month for consideration.