Our Work

We've been working with landowners and local communities since 1991 to protect Minnesota’s increasingly threatened lands and waters.

At the core of our mission is direct land protection, using perpetual conservation easements and other strategies to permanently protect the best remaining lands in Minnesota.  We're also working with the St. Louis River Alliance and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on a major restoration project in the St. Louis River Estuary.

Here are a few of our recent land protection projects:

Classic, south-facing rock outcroppings provide excellent habitat for timber rattlesnakesDecember 2011 - Rare Goat Prairie Overlooking the Root River.

The Land Trust has completed the protection of a 11-acre tract in Houston County that is dominated by a steep, dry bluff prairie rising nearly 300 feet above the Root River.  Located on Highway 16, an Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway that runs through Lanesboro east to the Mississippi River, the tract lies within an area where much of the prairie bluffs have reverted to forest and very little of the native habitat remains.  The property is clearly visible from the Root River and is only two miles from both the Chisholm Valley Wildlife Management Area and the Vinegar Ridge Recreation Area.  An equestrian trail lies just north and west of the property.

Protecting the tract protects important habitat for several rare species including timber rattlesnakes, the six-lined racerunner lizard and a number of native prairie plants.  The landowner is actively restoring the property by removing the cedars and other woody plants that have overrun the steep slopes.

Funding for this project includes public support from the Outdoor Heritage Fund as approved by the Minnesota legislature.

Miller IslandBurntside Lake - September 2011

The nearly 14-acre Miller Island property on Burntside Lake near Ely has more than 4,400 feet of shoreline and lies within a complex of other protected lands, enhancing the habitat values for wildlife and recreational benefits to visitors and residents.

The Land Trust has been active in the Burntside Lake area for several years and has protected seven other properties on the lake including Listening Point, the historic and inspirational home of wilderness advocate Sigurd F. Olson.  Funding for this project included funds from the Outdoor Heritage Fund, created when Minnesota voters passed the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment in 2008.