Leif Mountain

The Nature Conservancy

Leif Mountain is a The Nature Conservancy preserve in Kandiyohi County. Its 800 acres protect a diverse mix of habitats including wet, mesic, and dry prairies, oak forest, cattail marsh, and three lakes.

There are three parking areas on Leif Mountain (see map above) giving access to three very different areas, and visitors should consider exploring all three. The south parking area is on 47 acres that includes about 20 acres of wet and mesic prairie, a 1-acre pond and cattail marsh, and a 2-acre pond. The remainder of this section is cattail marsh. A narrow dry land bridge leads to a wooded peninsula jutting into the marsh south of Section Twelve Lake. Access from the south area to the rest of the preserve is blocked by the lake and by cattail marsh.

The southwest parking area is on 27 acres. It includes two native plant communities, 2½ acres of Dry Sand - Gravel Prairie (Southern) and 1½ acres of Mesic Prairie (Southern), and 5 acres of mixed woodland and wet and mesic prairies. The remainder of the area is cattail marsh.

The west parking area is on about 340 acres. It includes two unnamed lakes, 80 acres of Dry Sand - Gravel Prairie (Southern), 13½ acres of Basswood - Bur Oak - (Green Ash) Forest, and a mix of mesic prairie, wet prairie, and cattail marsh. The high quality forest has common and rare woodland species not found other places on the preserve.

Several species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen on Leif Mountain, including American White Pelican, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, regal fritillary, and American ginseng.

800.27 acres

South, 80th St. NW / 273rd Ave. NW (by preserve sign)
N45 23.239, W95 8.627

Southwest, 80th St. NW / 273rd Ave. NW
N45 23.237, W95 9.086

West, 285th Ave. N
N45 24.028, W95 10.073

Hiking, nature photography, Birding

No maintained trails

No hunting

South Parking

The Nature Conservancy Sign

West Parking

Prairie and Marsh

Section Twelve Lake from the South

Section Twelve Lake from the Southwest

Cattail Marsh from the South

Cattail Marsh from the Southwest

Southwest Mixed Prairie

Wooded Peninsula

West Prairie

eBird Field Checklist (27 species)

eBird Field Checklist (56 species)

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)

Eastern Wood-peewee (Contopus virens)

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis tabida)

Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis)

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

Black Knot (Apiosporina morbosa)

Common Greenshield Lichen (Flavoparmelia caperata)

Gold Dust Lichen (Chrysothrix candelaris)

Mossy Maze Polypore (Cerrena unicolor)

Star Rosette Lichen (Physcia stellaris)

Sunburst Lichens (Xanthoria spp.)

autumn meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum)

black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

Carolina grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina)

common green darner (Anax junius)

dog day cicada (Neotibicen canicularis)

eastern tailed-blue (Cupido comyntas)

eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

goldenrod bunch gall midge (Rhopalomyia solidaginis)

goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis)

monarch (Danaus plexippus)

orange sulphur (Colias eurytheme)

sword-bearing conehead (Neoconocephalus ensiger)

viceroy (Limenitis archippus)

western honey bee (Apis mellifera)

white snakeroot leaf miner (Liriomyza eupatoriella)

willow pinecone gall midge (Rabdophaga strobiloides)

American beaver (Castor canadensis)

eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus)

plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius)

whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and Minnesota Biological Survey Vegetation Releves Plant List

• Common Name
• Scientific Name