Itasca State Park sits at the convergence of North America's three largest biomes: coniferous forest, eastern deciduous forest and tall grass prairie. The station is surrounded by countless locations and unique habitat types that are ideal for field research, both within the state park (some within walking distance, others a short drive on state park roads or accessible by boat or trails within the park) and in the surrounding region. The area is considered a site of Outstanding Biodiversity Significance by the MN-DNR Minnesota Biological Survey. This designation indicates the area contains the "best occurrences of the rarest species, the most outstanding examples of the rarest native plant communities, and/or the largest, most ecologically intact or functional landscapes". Here, we highlight a few key areas that our researchers and courses use for field work.
Old Growth Forest Stands in Itasca State Park
Itasca State Park contains about 5,500 acres of old growth forest and is home to about 20% of the remaining old growth pine forest in Minnesota. Below is a 2023 map of the old growth stands in the park. See the next section about State Scientific and Natural Areas to learn more about the Itasca Wilderness Sanctuary section of this map (outlined in red below).
State Scientific and Natural Areas
Scientific and Natural Areas near Itasca Station
State Scientific and Natural Areas (SNAs) are exceptional environments where Minnesota's biodiversity thrives, rare species are protected, and the state's unique natural features can be discovered and studied. Several SNAs are within close driving distance to the station. The designation of some of these areas as SNAs was thanks, in part, to efforts by researchers at the Itasca Station.
Itasca Wilderness Sanctuary SNA
The Itasca Wilderness Sanctuary is a 1600 acre SNA located along the western side of Lake Itasca and protects roughly two miles of undeveloped shoreline along the lake. A mosaic of eighteen native plant communities occupy the site, dominated by fire-dependent red pine – white pine forest communities. The SNA is accessible via the half-mile Lake Bohall footpath or the 1/4 mile Nicollet Creek path from Wilderness Drive, but most of the tract is protected and not open to general recreation.
The Itasca Wilderness Sanctuary holds an important place in Minnesota's conservation history. It was established in 1939 within the state park to preserve a part of the wilderness character of the state that existed prior to logging and settlement. In 1965, it became Minnesota's first National Natural Landmark. The Sanctuary's was designated as a state SNA in 1983, as the finest example of Great Lakes Pine Forest in north-central Minnesota. In 2023, the SNA was inducted into the Old Growth Forest Network, which recognizes existing old-growth forests across the nation and highlights the importance of preserving these areas.
Iron Springs Bog SNA
Iron Springs bog is a 231 acre SNA located just two miles north of Itasca State Park. Although named a “bog”, this site is actually a fen, characterized by springs of iron-rich groundwater welling up into the forested peatlands that border Sucker Creek. The site boasts a diversity of orchids and other wetland-dwelling plants. While the SNA is open to the public, there are no maintained trails, and visitors should be mindful not to trample the vegetation in this unique conifer swamp forest.
Given its distinctive water chemistry and the resulting plant communities, Iron Springs Bog has long been a popular field site for courses at the Itasca Station. In fact, professors Carl Otto Rosendahl and Murray Buell brought their botany class to the SNA to demonstrate paludification and the role of sphagnum moss in water filtration. Buell was the first to describe the area’s vegetation in his 1953 publication and was instrumental in promoting recognition of the site’s qualification for an official SNA designation. Even today, field microbiology and mycology students still visit Iron Springs Bog to study its water chemistry and unique flora.
Other Nearby SNAs
- La Salle Lake SNA - La Salle Creek has its source in Itasca State Park and flows down into the Mississippi through La Salle Lake
- Dinner Creek SNA - dominated by a rich black spruce swamp
- Frenchman's Bluff SNA - prairie grassland overlooking the Red River Valley from one of the highest points in northwestern Minnesota
- Santee Prairie SNA - high quality native prairie, with mesic prairie, wet prairie, and prairie wetland complex
- Greenwater Lake SNA - >50 feet deep lake, very clear and relatively low in productivity
- Badoura Jack Pine Woodland SNA - one of the largest examples of a mature jack pine woodland community represented on an SNA
- Lester Lake SNA - undeveloped shoreline rimmed by sedge meadow
For the full list of State Scientific and Natural Areas visit the Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas website
Itasca Station Offsite Research Plots
The University of Minnesota owns two plots of land north of Itasca State Park, just under 4 miles away from the station. They hold a mixture of early-successional forest and meadow. Unlike land within the state park boundaries, these UMN plots present an opportunity for manipulative research projects.
State Forests
There are many State Forests within close driving distance of the Itasca station, including Two Inlets State Forest, White Earth State Forest, Paul Bunyan State Forest, and Mississippi Headwaters State Forest.
