Special places

FMR maintains over three dozen habitat restoration and land protection sites in the metro area. Find out more about some of these special places below. 

You can also see a map of all of our protection and restoration sites and learn more about our approach and Land Conservation program.

Special places
Pine Bend Bluffs Natural Area

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August 4, 2010
Critical for wildlife, this 1,300-acre corridor of protected lands along dramatic western bluffs of the Mississippi River south of the metro includes Pine Bend Bluffs SNA, an award-winning restoration, and one of our favorite places to bird. Read more
Pine Bend Bluffs in the fall
Gores Wildlife Management Area

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March 9, 2026
This 7,000-acre network of winding backwaters and lush green islands where the Vermillion meets the Mississippi is one of the largest expanses of floodplain native plant communities in southeast Minnesota. Read more
Weltands and confluence of rivers with Hastings bridge in background
Vermillion River Aquatic Management Area

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March 9, 2026
The cold water trout stream and wide floodplain wetlands at the 450-acre Vermillion River Aquatic Management Area (AMA) in Dakota County offer opportunities for angling, hunting, trapping and wildlife observation. Read more
Wetland area
Highlands of River Pointe Preserve

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October 23, 2025
Part of a former farmstead, this Otsego preserve lies along 2.5 miles of the Crow River and showcases massive cottonwood and oak trees, wide sandy floodplains, and grasslands that we're working to restore. Read more
Floodplain with river
Harmon Park Reserve and Salem Hills Park

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September 23, 2025
Four miles of trails wind through this pair of Inver Grove Heights parks that feature cropland turned prairie, acres of restored savanna, towering oak, maple and basswood trees and a pond that draws wildlife to its waters. Read more
Aerial view of trail, water, forest
Wic̣aḣapi

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June 13, 2025
Wic̣aḣapi is a cemetery built by the ancestors of living Indigenous people, home to the only known remaining burial mounds within the Twin Cities core. FMR has helped restore dry prairie and oak savanna at this sacred blufftop place in St. Paul. Read more
Aerial view of Wic̣aḣapi, river, and downtown St. Paul
Southwest Park Ponding Basin

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May 28, 2025
At a neighborhood park in Hastings, FMR is working with the city to turn a former landfill into a thriving prairie with multiple pollinator gardens. Read more
Southwest Park Ponding Basin greenspace

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Upcoming Events

Partner event: Earth Day rally in the rotunda
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 - 10:00am to 11:00am
Minnesota Capitol Rotunda, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, St. Paul, MN
One Day, One Earth, One Minnesota: Earth Day Collaborative fundraiser
April 1 through April 22, 2026
Online
Remove garlic mustard at Hampton Woods Wildlife Management Area [WAITLIST]
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 - 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Large oak forest in Hampton, Dakota County

See all Upcoming Events