Northern Tallgrass Prairie

Grasslands are one of the most endangered and least protected habitat types on Earth. Native prairie once covered as much as 18 million acres in Minnesota. Only about 235,000 acres of prairie remain today in the state.

The Nature Conservancy acquired 2,094 acres in Minnesota that have been added to the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge was established in 2000 to address the loss of America’s grasslands and the decline of grassland wildlife.

The Nature Conservancy acquired the lands and transferred them to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under a program recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council and approved by the Minnesota Legislature. Funding for the acquisitions was provided by the Outdoor Heritage Fund, which was created under the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.

All of the properties acquired by The Nature Conservancy and added to the refuge are open to the public for outdoor recreation including hiking, birding and photography.

They also are all open to hunting, however, the FWS encourages hunters to check regulations as they may vary by unit. For additional information, please contact the appropriate unit manager.

Locations:

• Bartels Unit: Portion of the SE 1/4 of Section 20, Rose Dell Township, Rock County; 96°22’18” W 43°47’35” N (43.793098 -96.371778)
• Brandenburg Prairie Unit: Portions of SE ¼ of Section 18, Mound Township, Rock County; 96°16’21”W  43°43’34”N  (43.726093°  -96.272660°)
• Brenner Lake Unit: NW 1/4 of Section 6, Norway Lake Township, Kandiyohi County; 95°15’18” W 45°24’34” N (45.409545 -95.254907) 
• Cramlet Unit: Portion of the SW1/4NW1/4 and NW1/4SW1/4 of Section 34, Langhei Township, Pope County; 95°33’43” W 45°25’20” N (45.422368 -95.561873)
• Flickertail Prairie Unit: Portion of the E 1/2 of Section 34 and a portion of the NW1/4 of Section 35, Hagen Township, Clay County; 96°22’24” W 47°4’43” N (47.078594 -96.373367)
• Forstrom Unit: Portions of NW ¼ of Section 10, Norway Lake, Kandiyohi County; 95°11’16”W  45°23’54”N  (45.398363  -95.187906)
• Harris Trust, et al. Unit: SE 1/4 of Section 32, Nora Township, Pope County; 95°43’2” W 45°40’37” N (45.677035 -95.717341)
• Hoffman Unit: N ½ NE ¼ of Section 35, Langhei Township, Pope County; 95°31’52”W  45°25’36”N  (45.426571°  -95.531000°)
• Holland Braton Unit: Portion of the SW 1/4 of Section 32, Humboldt Township, Clay County; 96°24’13” W 46°37’51” N (46.630840 -96.403569)
• Mears Unit: Portions of NW ¼ and N ½ NE ¼ of Section 14, McKinley Township, Kittson County; 96°34’12”W  48°56’53”N  (48.948364°, -096.570258°)
• Pavia Unit: Portions of SE ¼ of Section 28, Lake Ida Township, Norman County; 96°23’9”W  47°15’10”N  (47.252831°  -96.385848°)
• Pell Creek Unit: Portions of SE 1/4 of Section 12, Holly Township, Murray County; 95°27’45”W 44°10’24”N (44.163380°, -095.462657°)
• Spieker Unit: Portions of NE 1/4 and W 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of Section 2, Riverton Township, Clay County; 96°26’31”W  46°53’12”N  (46.886858°, -96.441935°)
• Storm Unit: Portions of N 1/2 of Section 35, Pelan Township, Kittson County; 96°25’41”W  48°38’11”N  (48.636542°, -096.428114°)
• Syverson Unit: Portion of NE 1/4 Section 32, Nora Township, Pope County; 95°43’2” W 45°40’48” N (45.680106 -95.717276)
• Woolcott Unit: N 1/2 of the NW 1/4 of Sec 7, Colfax Township, Kandiyohi County; 95°7’20” W  45°23’47”N  (45.396321°  -95.12219