Verlyn Marth Memorial Prairie SNA

30 Acres Located Morris, take MN Hwy 9 to Donnelly, then travel N on Co Hwy 9 approximately 3 miles to junction with Co Rd 76. Park along Co Rd 76. Stevens County Twp 126N Rng 42W Sec 06 Type: Prairie Grasslands ECS Subsection: Minnesota River Prairie

Description:

Located in the gently rolling hills of the Fergus Falls till plain, this SNA was named after Verlyn Marth, a citizen known locally for his botanical skills and his advocacy of prairie protection. He had observed this site, with its two dry-mesic prairie knolls and its cattail marsh/sedge meadow, as it was used for pasture land during the 1930s and 40s. When he saw it being plowed and planted, he purchased the land to prevent further destruction. From then on, he worked to manage it as a prairie and restore it to its original condition. Despite his careful planting, transplanting, hand-weeding, and burning, however, he concluded that preservation of existing native prairie was far more effective than prairie restoration. His journals detail his work and his evaluation of it. The side slopes bordering the ravine support the best prairie communities; look there for little bluestem, big bluestem, Indian grass, switch grass, needle and thread, side oats grama, flat head goldenrod, coreopsis, and phlox. Purple cone flower, lead plant, and prickly pear cactus also occur on the site.

Bird List

Plant List