Minnesota Milestones

1950s-1960s
1970s-1980s

moose at the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland
Moose in the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland © John Gregor/ColdSnap Photography

Palisade Valley in autumn at Tettegouche State Park © Harold Malde

Aspen stand at Wallace C. Dayton Conservation and Wildlife Area
An aspen stand at the Wallace C. Dayton Conservation and Wildlife Area © John Gregor/ColdSnap Photography

Ducks fly over a wetland at Glacial Ridge © Areca Treon/TNC

Mississippi River in Minnesota
The Mississippi River and blufflands in Minnesota © Robert J. Hurt

A family explores the trails at Sugar Hills © George Hornick

1990s
1990: The Minnesota Chapter has 13,000 members and has conserved 42,000 acres of land in the state.

The Conservancy develops local community support for and successfully lobbies the legislature to establish Glendalough State Park, the first joint State Park/Wildlife Management Area in state history.

1991: The chapter completes its “Minnesota Critical Areas Campaign,” surpassing the $5 million goal by raising $5.8 million for land acquisition and stewardship.

The Conservancy successfully advocated inclusion of a peatlands protection amendment in the Wetlands Conservation Act. Almost 150,000 acres of peatland were designated as state Scientific and Natural Areas and protected for recreation, research and educational studies.

1992: The Conservancy purchases its first tract—7,000 acres in total—of tallgrass prairies and wetlands in the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland landscape, which straddles the Minnesota-Manitoba border. Most of the land is transferred to Minnesota DNR as wildlife management areas.

The Minnesota Chapter doubles the size of Tettegouche State Park by negotiating a complex land exchange.

1994: The Minnesota Chapter has 17,500 members and has conserved 200,000 acres in the state. It owns 60 preserves, totaling 20,000 acres.

1998: The Minnesota Chapter receives its first $1 million donation from an individual.

1999: The Minnesota Chapter purchases more than 10,000 acres in the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland and creates the Wallace C. Dayton Conservation and Wildlife Area.

2000s
2000: The Minnesota Chapter purchases more than 24,000 acres in Polk County east of Crookston for the Glacial Ridge Project and begins the largest prairie-wetland reconstruction project in U.S. history.

The chapter acquires more than 1,900 acres of old-growth northern hardwood forest in the Upper Manitou Forest, which includes a lake, pools, streams, black ash and cedar swamps and a number of rare plants.

2002: The chapter completes the “Saving the Last Great Places: The Minnesota Campaign for Conservation,” surpassing the $15 million goal by raising $18.1 million to acquire, restore and steward land and to establish three new field offices.

2003: The Conservancy’s first comprehensive study of the Upper Mississippi River’s freshwater ecosystems identifies critical conservation areas in Minnesota, including the Root River, and four other states.

2004: President Bush designates Glacial Ridge as Minnesota’s 13th National Wildlife Refuge, beginning a transfer of land from the Chapter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Conservancy and the U.S. Defense Department form the Prairies to Pines Partnership to preserve habitat and reduce encroachment on military operations near Camp Ripley, a 53,000-acre Army National Guard training facility in central Minnesota. The Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) has now secured protection of more than 4,000 acres adjacent to Camp Ripley and the Mississippi River. The area hosts an amazing array of plants and wildlife, including wolves and red-shouldered hawks.

2005: The Forest Legacy Partnership in Minnesota is catalyzed by a $6.25 million grant by the Blandin Foundation, the largest gift ever to the chapter. It supports the establishment of a fund designed to ensure sustainable forestry, protect wildlife habitat and guarantee public access on forestland in the Itasca County region of northern Minnesota.

The Root River program is initiated as one of the chapter’s contributions to cleaning up the Mississippi River. Staff are working to coordinate government conservation programs and help guide their implementation to the highest priority agricultural lands. This part of Minnesota has some of the highest biological diversity in the state, including most of our native amphibians and reptiles, and is increasingly threatened with development.

2007: The first Minnesota Forest Legacy Partnership projects are completed: the 1,660-acre Sugar Hills project in Itasca County, and the Koochiching-Washington Forest Legacy project in Koochiching and Itasca counties. At 51,000 acres, the latter is the single largest conservation project in Minnesota in at least a decade.

The Minnesota chapter has 23,000 members, and has conserved more than 300,000 acres in the state. It owns 56 preserves, totaling more than 72,000 acres. The program employs 65 staff and 22 trustees serve on its board. The Nature Conservancy’s strong performance is recognized by Charity Navigator as exceeding or meeting industry standards.

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