Cannon River Turtle Preserve SNA

Overview
Photos
Slideshows
Videos
Sightings

About • Location • Activities • Ecology


	About

	Ownership


	Links
	Minnesota DNR

	Overview


	History


	Management


	Comments


	Location

	Maps
	Detail map (MN DNR)

	Printable Map(s) with GPS coordinates
	Complete


	East Section		West Section


	Size
	909 acres

	Parking
	Cannon Valley Bike Trail parking lot (access to area south of Cannon River) N44 34.459, W92 38.529 Circle Drive pull off (access to area north of Cannon River) N44 34.522, W92 41.330 Cannon River Public Water Access (access to area south of Cannon River) N44 34.866, W92 39.320


	Driving Directions
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					Goodhue County
					Southeast Minnesota


	Activities

	Hiking Trails
	The Cannon River Bike Trail runs alongside this SNA. There are no other hiking trails.

	Hunting
	All hunting. See Hunting and Trapping Regulations (MN DNR) for details.


	Ecology

	Ecological Classification
	Ecological Province			Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province
	Ecological Section			Paleozoic Plateau
	Ecological Subsection			The Blufflands
	Land Type Association			Altura Ridgetops Cannon River Valley Elba Slopes HamptonTill Plain

	Native Plant Communities*
	Dry Bedrock Bluff Prairie (Southern) Oak - Shagbark Hickory Woodland Red Oak - White Oak Forest Sand Beach/Sandbar (River): Permanent Stream Subtype Silver Maple - Green Ash - Cottonwood Terrace Forest Silver Maple - (Virginia Creeper) Floodplain Forest Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Bitternut Hickory) Forest Sugar Maple - Basswood - Red Oak - (Blue Beech) Forest
	* Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources

	Natural Features

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes can be thick in the summer. DEET is highly recommended.


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	Cannon River


	Cannon Valley Bike Trail

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	Slideshows


	Cannon River Turtle Preserve SNA minnesota_snas

	About This site was protected largely in the interest of securing critical habitat for the state-threatened wood turtle, which prefers small, fast moving streams in forests with grassy meadows on the banks and raised sandbars for nesting.

slideshow


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	Other Videos

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Visitor Sightings

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings


Visits
4/21/2006

Amphibians

boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata)

boreal chorus frog

Birds

eBird Field Checklist

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)

Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

Green Heron (Butorides virescens)

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)

Mammals

American beaver (Castor canadensis)

northern raccoon (Procyon lotor)

whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

American beaver

Plants

Plants frequently found in:

Dry Bedrock Bluff Prairie (Southern) UPs13c

Oak - Shagbark Hickory Woodland FDs38a

Red Oak - White Oak Forest MHs37a

Sand Beach/Sandbar (River): Permanent Stream Subtype RVx32b2

Silver Maple - Green Ash - Cottonwood Terrace Forest FFs59a

Silver Maple - (Virginia Creeper) Floodplain Forest FFs68a

Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Bitternut Hickory) Forest MHs39a

Sugar Maple - Basswood - Red Oak - (Blue Beech) Forest MHs39b

Common Name
Scientific Name

American basswood (Tilia americana var. americana)

American elm (Ulmus americana)

bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Canada anemone (Anemone canadensis)

Canadian wild ginger (Asarum canadense)

common blue violet (Viola sororia)

common burdock (Arctium minus)

common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale)

common mullein (Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus)

Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)

eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana)

eastern false rue anemone (Enemion biternatum)

green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

kidney-leaved buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus)

large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora)

lyre-leaved rock cress (Arabidopsis lyrata ssp. lyrata)

northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis)

northern red oak (Quercus rubra)

northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis)

plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera)

scouring rush horsetail (Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine)

sharp-lobed hepatica (Anemone acutiloba)

silver maple (Acer saccharinum)

smooth sumac (Rhus glabra)

smooth yellow violet (Viola pubescens var. scabriuscula)

Virginia spring beauty (Claytonia virginica var. virginica)

Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum)

white trout lily (Erythronium albidum)

wild leek (Allium tricoccum)

Acer saccharinum (silver maple)

Allium tricoccum (wild leek)

Anemone acutiloba (sharp-lobed hepatica)

Anemone canadensis (Canada anemone)

Arabidopsis lyrata ssp. lyrata (lyre-leaved rock cress)

Arctium minus (common burdock)

Asarum canadense (Canadian wild ginger)

Claytonia virginica var. virginica (Virginia spring beauty)

Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s breeches)

Enemion biternatum (eastern false rue anemone)

Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine (scouring rush horsetail)

Erythronium albidum (white trout lily)

Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash)

Glechoma hederacea (ground ivy)

Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum (Virginia waterleaf)

Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana (eastern redcedar)

Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera (plains cottonwood)

Quercus ellipsoidalis (northern pin oak)

Quercus rubra (northern red oak)

Ranunculus abortivus (kidney-leaved buttercup)

Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale (common dandelion)

Thuja occidentalis (northern white cedar)

Tilia americana (American basswood)

Ulmus americana (American elm)

Uvularia grandiflora (large-flowered bellwort)

Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus (common mullein)

Viola pubescens var. scabriuscula (smooth yellow violet)

Viola sororia (common blue violet)

Reptiles


One reptile species with conservation status in Minnesota has been seen here:
Threatened	wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)

painted turtle (Chrysemys picta)

wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)

painted turtle

Binoculars

Bald Eagles

In the spring of 2006 a pair of Bald Eagles nested on the site.

Wood Turtle

Wood turtles can be seen on the sand bars in the river, which are off-limits to visitors.

Last Updated:

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