Partners celebrate the protection of 150 acres in Inver Grove Heights

Project partners celebrate protection of the Katharine Ordway Natural History Study Area. From left: Al Singer, Dakota County, Whitney Clark, FMR, Nancy Schouweiler, Dakota County, David Wheaton, Macalester College, Tom Lewanski, FMR, Jerald Dosch, Macalester College.

On a beautiful autumn afternoon, FMR and our partners, Macalester College and Dakota County, celebrated the fruits of a vision that we all shared — the protection of one of the largest remaining parcels of natural land along the Mississippi in the Twin Cities. Known as the Katharine Ordway Natural History Study Area, this land which is part of the larger Pine Bend Bluffs, will continue to be owned by Macalester and operated as a biology field station but through a conservation easement the land will never be developed. As Macalester Vice President of Finance and Administration, David Wheaton, expressed at the ceremony: This place where you stand will now look exactly the same 100 years from now.

FMR is pleased to continue our leadership efforts to protect, restore and enhance the natural communities in the Pine Bend Bluffs. These efforts led to the establishment of the Pine Bend Bluffs Scientific and Natural Area in 2002, which with this most recent addition has grown to 464 permanently protected acres.