MINNESOTA DRIFTLESS FIELD TRIP
Field Trip: Prairie Creek Wildlife Management Area (Koester Prairie Unit and Engeseth-Ringe Unit)
Saturday, September 20 – 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Location: Prairie Creek Wildlife Management Area in Rice County, MN
Join us on Saturday, September 20th, for a field trip at Prairie Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA), southeast of Northfield in Rice County. Our plans are to visit both the Koester Prairie Unit and the Engeseth-Ringe Unit of the WMA.
We had a grassland bird field trip to the Koester Prairie Unit in the spring of 2021 so it will be good to return and see things in the early fall. We’ve never been to the nearby Engeseth-Ringe Unit so it will be nice to explore a new place.
In addition to enjoying the early fall weather, as well as the flora and fauna, this field trip will provide an opportunity to learn about the rich history of these two units, and allow us to talk about the Minnesota Driftless chapter’s newly-forming relationship with them. The entire WMA is owned and managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) but the two units we’ll visit have a long history of the DNR collaborating with others to conduct stewardship activities, support ecological research, and foster their appreciation by the wider community.
Moving forward, the Minnesota Driftless chapter will be collaborating with the DNR and the current non-DNR land stewards to organize and execute work days focused on invasive plant control and other stewardship activities, as well as hosting more field trips. An especially exciting development is the Minnesota Driftless chapter providing a representative who will serve on the Engeseth-Rinde Restoration Fund Advisory Committee. The advisory committee reviews grant applications seeking awards from the Engeseth-Rinde Restoration Fund.
FIELD TRIP LEADER AND RSVP:
If you’d like more information about the field trip, or if you’d like to register for it, send an email to Steve Winter (WinterSL8944@gmail.com). People who register will receive more information about things like the specific place to meet and the route we’ll take when we caravan from one unit of the WMA to the other. Importantly, people who register will also be notified if we need to cancel or reschedule the field trip due to things such as bad weather.