Two plots of land in northern Itasca County officially have been classified as state Scientific and Natural Areas, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced Thursday.
The 58-acre "Little Too Much Lake SNA" contains two types of hardwood forest -- aspen-birch-red maple and sugar maple-basswood. The land also holds red and white pine, including trees more than 250 years old. The site also protects about 2,600 feet of natural lakeshore on north side of Little Too Much Lake.
The 84-acre "Potato Lake SNA" harbors old red pine and white pine uplands as well.
Both plots were donated to the state SNA program by Illinois resident Jerry Martin. They've become the newest of 158 SNAs across the state, most of them in northern Minnesota and many holding unique, rare and threatened species of trees, plants, animals and ecosystems.
The new SNAs are open to the public for hiking and other minimally intrusive activities, including fishing, skiing, hunting and bird watching. They are off-limits to camping, fires, ATVs, development or timber harvest and are intended to be areas for researchers to study as well as preserve valuable ecological assets.
"The landowner's commitment to land protection goes above and beyond anything I saw in my career," Steve Wilson, a retired DNR SNA specialist who helped establish the new SNAs, said. "Because of his discerning eye in purchasing undisturbed (waterfront) plant communities, and decades-long protection of them,
each tract is an ecological gem in its own right."Wilson noted Martin has plans to donate five more parcels in the Itasca County area and already has donated two parcels to Wisconsin's land preservation efforts.
Source: http://www.twincities.com/minnesota/ci_22444493/two-plots-itasca-county-land-be-preserved-studied
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