Ottawa Bluffs

Visitors to the top of the bluff on the west side of the preserve will not only be rewarded with a fine view of the Minnesota River Valley, but will also find themselves next to an "Indian" burial mound. Ottawa Bluffs can be a great place to see the pasque flower, the first prairie flower of the spring. These beauties can be found on the south-facing slopes in the prairie opening, especially toward the tops of the rises. Look for them in early April, as soon as the ground starts thawing.

Location
Le Sueur County

Size
63 acres

How to Prepare for Your Visit
Please respect the Indian mound and do not disturb it. Consider that, when the mound was constructed (hundreds of years ago), the countryside was a mixture of prairie, oak savanna, and woodland, in all directions. For more information on visiting this and other Minnesota preserves, check out our Preserve Visitation Guidelines.

Directions
From St. Peter, go east on Highway 99 for about one mile. Turn left on County Road 23. After about four miles, look for the small yellow and green Conservancy boundary marker signs, and for a green mailbox which holds preserve information. Park along the edge of the road. Nearest services are in St. Peter.

Plants
In the prairie openings can be found a variety of forbs and grasses. One of the milkvetches is found here, though it is a much more common plant in the drier, short grass prairies to the west. The dominant tall grasses at Ottawa are Indian grass and big bluestem. During late August and September, they dominate the prairie-scape. Other shorter grasses include little bluestem, dropseed, porcupine, hairy gramma, and side-oats gramma. Forbs include:

Pasque flower
Prairie turnip
Prairie plum
Birds-foot violet
Blue-eyed grass
Indian turnip
Purple prairie clover
Prairie larkspur
Spider wort
Lead plant
Blazing star
Round headed bush clover
Silky aster
Aromatic aster

Animals
Ottawa Bluffs harbors a number of animal species, including the harvest mouse (a typically western species only found in the southern part of Minnesota) and jumping mouse. A sizable flock of wild turkeys can be seen in the area. The bluff line is a favorite soaring space for raptors, which are frequently seen cruising over the preserve.

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
Oak savannas are one of the most endangered ecological communities in Minnesota.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
Ottawa Bluffs was purchased by the Conservancy in 1975 to protect a remnant of the Minnesota River bluffs. Because of the extensive invasion by woody vegetation, a concerted effort is underway to restore the site to its pre-settlement conditions. While the prairie openings have been managed by prescribed fire since the Conservancy acquired the site, the frequency and intensity of these burns has been insufficient to set back this encroachment.

To remedy this, volunteers have been working at Ottawa Bluffs to remove trees and brush from selected areas, and to bring the role of fire back to the woody areas of the preserve. This work consists mostly of cutting eastern red cedar and European buckthorn. Much of this work is done during the winter, when cool temperatures are conducive to physical labor and when the cuttings can be safely disposed of by burning. Additionally, the volunteers harvest prairie seeds from the remnants to plant in the cleared areas, in order to facilitate the return of the savanna and the prairie. The use of these techniques is helping to restore Ottawa Bluffs' oak savanna and the diversity of species that live here.