Video: How we protect land — The story of Pine Bend Bluffs Natural Area

Watch our new video to experience the stunning landscape of the Pine Bend Bluffs Natural Area habitat corridor with a bird's-eye view.

FMR Senior Ecologist Karen Schik shares her perspectives on one of the largest and most diverse ecosystems in the Twin Cities area, which is also FMR's first land protection project and our longest-running restoration site.

As the camera glides above the treetops and along the river, you'll see for yourself why it's important to protect these 1,300 acres that offer a home to rare plants and animals as well as a breeding and resting area for hundreds of migratory bird species.

You'll also see the impact of the work FMR and our volunteers have done since 2003 to protect and restore the bluffs above the Mississippi River's bend and sustain the vital habitat that this unique place provides.

The video features our conservation and restoration work at three sites: Macalester College's 300-acre Katharine Ordway Natural History Study Area in Inver Grove Heights with marsh marigold in the spring seepage swamps, 256-acre Pine Bend Bluffs Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) in Inver Grove Heights where you can find prairie larkspur on the native bluff prairies in June, and Flint Hills Resources' 700-acre natural area in Rosemount, where six-lined racerunners zip across the bluff prairies in summer. 

Why we love habitat corridors

One of the main goals of FMR's land protection and restoration work is to create and sustain corridors of habitat. The more land we can protect and restore, and the more connected those sites are, the greater their benefits for wildlife and important plant species.

This latest video is the second in a series that highlights the habitat corridors we're already working to sustain and grow with help from members, donors and volunteers like you.

Watch the first video for a tour of our restoration projects in the Vermillion River corridor as it flows into the Mississippi River in Hastings, another bird's-eye view of the value of conservation corridors.

Thanks to Mike Durenberger of Wavescribe Productions for producing this video.

Join us

Sign up for Mississippi Messages to receive volunteer event notifications and updates on our protection and restoration work throughout the Twin Cities metro.

Interested in protecting your land? Reach out to Conservation Director Alex Roth at aroth@fmr.org.