The Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge
Johnny Greavu
June 22, 2015
The Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge
The 11,012-acre (17.2 sq mi) Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington, Minnesota is the largest urban National Wildlife Refuge in the country. Shockingly close to the Mall of America and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, it is home a handful of habitats including tall-grass prairie, wetland, floodplain, and upland hardwood forest. 11,700 to 9,400 years ago, the valley was the
River Warren, the drainage river of Lake Agassiz (a glacial lake larger in area than every Great Lake combined). World War II stalled initial movements to establish a park along the river, but the threat of urban development helped push preservation efforts. Totaling 34 miles of refuge along the Minnesota
River, the park is an ideal environment for a variety of species.
A featured habitat of the refuge is the restored tall-grass prairie. Every three to five years, the prairie is burned and started anew with planted seeds. Regular controlled fires stimulate microbial activity in the soil and releases nutrients from the ash. This practice also extends the growing season for native plants, while helping rid of invasive species.
Common milkweed (Asclepias syriacia), found in this sunny prairie, can grow in shaded and wet or dry habitats and is abundant all over Minnesota. Another blooming pink wildflower, crown vetch
(Securigera varia) is nearby. Growing in masses 30 feet across with stems creeping along the ground, crown vetch was first brought here from Eurasia and North Africa to combat erosion along highways.
Crown vetch, a part of the pea/bean family (Fabaceae), routes nitrogen from the air to the ground, increasing the soil’s fertility. A call of “peeee-weeee” may be heard overhead—the eastern wood pewee
(Contopus virens). These gray-olive flycatchers usually prefer deciduous woods, like the adjacent upland hardwood forest in the refuge.
In the lush woods, one may come across northern red oak (Quercus
June 22, 2015
The Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge
The 11,012-acre (17.2 sq mi) Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington, Minnesota is the largest urban National Wildlife Refuge in the country. Shockingly close to the Mall of America and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, it is home a handful of habitats including tall-grass prairie, wetland, floodplain, and upland hardwood forest. 11,700 to 9,400 years ago, the valley was the
River Warren, the drainage river of Lake Agassiz (a glacial lake larger in area than every Great Lake combined). World War II stalled initial movements to establish a park along the river, but the threat of urban development helped push preservation efforts. Totaling 34 miles of refuge along the Minnesota
River, the park is an ideal environment for a variety of species.
A featured habitat of the refuge is the restored tall-grass prairie. Every three to five years, the prairie is burned and started anew with planted seeds. Regular controlled fires stimulate microbial activity in the soil and releases nutrients from the ash. This practice also extends the growing season for native plants, while helping rid of invasive species.
Common milkweed (Asclepias syriacia), found in this sunny prairie, can grow in shaded and wet or dry habitats and is abundant all over Minnesota. Another blooming pink wildflower, crown vetch
(Securigera varia) is nearby. Growing in masses 30 feet across with stems creeping along the ground, crown vetch was first brought here from Eurasia and North Africa to combat erosion along highways.
Crown vetch, a part of the pea/bean family (Fabaceae), routes nitrogen from the air to the ground, increasing the soil’s fertility. A call of “peeee-weeee” may be heard overhead—the eastern wood pewee
(Contopus virens). These gray-olive flycatchers usually prefer deciduous woods, like the adjacent upland hardwood forest in the refuge.
In the lush woods, one may come across northern red oak (Quercus