Kasota Prairie SNA

45 Acres Located from Kasota, 2 miles S on Co Hwy 21 to 480th St. Turn W and go 1.5 miles. Turn N on 367th Ave, go .75 miles. Park on pull-out on the E side of the road. LeSueur County Twp 109N Rng 26W Sec 07 Type: Prairie Grasslands ECS Subsection: Big Woods

Description:

Located on an extensive rock terrace 70 feet above the Minnesota River Valley, the Kasota Prairie is named for its view, Kasota meaning "cleared-off place." When the Glacial River Warren originally carved the Minnesota River valley, the flooded river covered this terrace. Today, prairie, wet meadow, oak woodland, and lowland hardwood plant communities thrive in the thin soils, only 12 inches deep here. They are managed by periodic burning. Shrubby patches of wild plum, wolfberry, and narrow-leaved meadowsweet provide nesting and perching sites for open-country birds such as horned larks, loggerhead shrikes, and upland sandpipers. The palette of wildflower color ranges from the first pasque flowers and prairie violets in early spring, on to summer's yellow stargrass, pale-spike lobelia, and sunflowers, deepening with the last gentians in October. Look for yellow nutsedge on the meadow area, and Sullivant's milkweed on the prairie. Rattlesnake master, actually a member of the parsley family, marks the northern extent of its range right here at Kasota Prairie SNA. The Nature Conservancy gifted most of the site to the state as an SNA.

Bird List

Plant List