Oak Savanna Restoration Project

Oak Savanna Restoration Project. The Landing–Minnesota River Heritage Park. , [Caption:] Oak savanna photo courtesy of Great River Greening., The area before you is undergoing a transformation to a replica of oak savanna that existed approximately 200 years ago. Oak savanna is a habitat that was prevalent along the Minnesota River prior to European immigration and, as its name indicates, it is a grassland containing scattered oak trees. Native wildflowers also were present among the grasses., Prior to the French Voyageurs migrating into this area, oak savanna was created by a combination of natural forces including the interaction of weather, topography, grazing by bison, naturally occurring fires, and fires set by humans. Cattle maintained the open-spaced trees after settlement, but the herbaceous vegetation was generally converted to exotic grasses., [Caption:] Valley of St. Peters, 1848, by Seth Eastman. Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society., In the last 50 years, competitive growth of non-native trees (e.g. Siberian Elm) and shrubs (e.g. common buckthorn and honeysuckle) as well as native trees (e.g. box elder, maple and green ash) has caused the old white oaks of this area to deteriorate in health. These invasive trees and shrubs have been removed and the earth between the oaks is undergoing preparation for seeding with native prairie grasses and forbs. Reestablishing the savanna portion of this habitat will take several years and require annual maintenance efforts.,

This project is being conducted through a partnership with Great River Greening and Three Rivers Park District. Funding is provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) and through the Metro Conservation Corridors partnership. Additional funding is from the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Grant Program, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and Three Rivers Park District.