Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR

Touch the Sky Prairie Unit

Overview
Photos
Slideshows
Videos
Sightings

About • Location • Activities • Ecology

About

Ownership

Links

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Overview

The Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge consists of a mix of

41 privately-owned easements that are not open to the public
8 units owned by the refuge system that are open to the public, six of which are in Minnesota.
9 units owned by The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota, all of which are open to the public.

Touch the Sky Prairie Unit is the only unit that in 2014 had maintained trails and visitor kiosks with interpretive signs.

History

Management

Comments


	Location

	Maps


	Printable Map(s) with GPS coordinates
	Complete		North Section


	Central Section		South Section



	Size
	927 acres

	Parking
	North Parking N43 44.835, W96 16.041 Southeast Parking N43 43.986, W96 16.706 Southwest Parking N43 43.962, W96 17.233


	Driving Directions
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					Rock County
					Southwest Minnesota


	Activities

	Hiking Trails
	There are mowed trails throughout the site.

	Hunting


	Ecology

	Ecological Classification
	Ecological Province			Prairie Parkland Province
	Ecological Section			North Central Glaciated Plains
	Ecological Subsection			Inner Coteau
	Land Type Association			Blue Mounds Trosky Till Plain

	Native Plant Communities*
	Crystalline Bedrock Outcrop (Prairie): Sioux Quartzite Subtype Mesic Prairie (Southern)
	* Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources

	Natural Features


	Visitor Photos

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	MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

	North Section
	Parking


	National Wildlife Refuge Sign


	Mesic Prairie (Southern)


	Crystalline Bedrock Outcrop (Prairie): Sioux Quartzite Subtype


	Cattail Marsh


	Central Section
	Parking


	Commemorative Marker


	Mesic Prairie (Southern)


	Crystalline Bedrock Outcrop (Prairie): Sioux Quartzite Subtype


	Other Prairie


	Beaver Creek


	South Section
	Parking


	Mesic Prairie (Southern)


	Intermittent Stream

Camera


	Slideshows

slideshow


	Visitor Videos

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	Other Videos


	Touch the Sky Prairie Jacob Job

	About Oct 24, 2019 Drone footage of Touch the Sky Prairie and surrounding farmland in southwestern Minnesota. Audio is from the dawn chorus earlier that day.



	Touch the Sky Prairie Amphibians Jacob Job

	About Oct 24, 2019 The sounds of various amphibians heard during the spring at Touch the Sky Prairie in Minnesota.



	Touch The Sky Prairie Bradley Herreid

	About Published on May 5, 2013 Spring morning at Touch The Sky Prairie



	Brandenburg Prairie Foundation: Touch the Sky Prairie MrAbburg

	About Uploaded on Nov 17, 2011 This is a stroll through The Touch the Sky Prairie near Blue Mounds State Park in Luverne, MN. This 1000 acre prairie preserve was purchased in partnership between The Brandenburg Prairie Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1999. More information can be found at www.jimbrandenburg.com/bpf. ©Anthony Brandenburg

Camcorder

Visitor Sightings

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings


Visits
9/9/2011		7/9/2014

Birds


Six bird species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:
Endangered	Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) Henslow’s Sparrow (Centronyx henslowii)
Special Concern	Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan) Greater Prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) Purple Martin (Progne subis) Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

eBird Field Checklist – Touch the Sky Prairie NWR

eBird Field Checklist – Touch the Sky Prairie--Rd 68

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)

Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida)

Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)

Dickcissel (Spiza americana)

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum)

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)

Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis)

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)

Fishes


One fish species with conservation status in Minnesota has been seen here:
Special Concern	Topeka shiner (Notropis topeka)

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Fishes List

Insects and Arachnids


One insect and arachnid species with conservation status in Minnesota has been seen here:
Endangered	Dakota skipper (Hesperia dacotae)

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Insects List

American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis)

black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

common green darner (Anax junius)

common wood nymph (Cercyonis pegala)

goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis)

monarch (Danaus plexippus)

orange sulphur (Colias eurytheme)

twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella)

variegated meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum)

widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)

Mammals

plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius)

whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Plants


Six plant species with conservation status in Minnesota are found here:
Threatened	prairie bush clover (Lespedeza leptostachya) tapertip flatsedge (Cyperus acuminatus) two-headed water starwort (Callitriche heterophylla var. heterophylla)
Special Concern	buffalo grass (Buchloë dactyloides) Scouler’s popcorn flower (Plagiobothrys scouleri) tumblegrass (Schedonnardus paniculatus)