Pigs Eye Island Heron Rookery SNA

 

 

     
 
About
 
 

Ownership

 
 

 
     
 

Links

 
 

Minnesota DNR

 
     
 

Overview

 
 

Pigs Eye Island is home both to Minnesota’s largest heron rookery and to Minnesota’s largest sewage treatment plant. The island is a swampy floodplain forest dominated by plains cottonwood silver maple. Access is by boat only.

 

Closed May 1 through August 15

The site is closed to the public from Aprl 1 through July 15 to protect nesting birds. During this time a permit is required to visit the island.

 
     
 

History

 
 

 

 
     
 

Management

 
 

 

 
     
 

Comments

 
 

 

 
     
 
Location
 
 

Maps

 
 

Detail map (MN DNR)

 
         
 

Printable Map(s) with GPS coordinates

 
         
         
 

Size

 
 

100 acres

 
         
 

Parking

 
 

Pigs Eye Island Heron Rookery SNA is accessible only by boat.

Public Water Access
N44 52.866, W93 1.084

 
         
 

Driving Directions

  Area and County  
 

Get driving directions from Google Maps to this destination from any address, and send those directions to your phone.

   
          Ramsey County  
          Metro Area  
     
 
Activities
 
 

Hiking Trails

 
 

No maintained trails

 
     
 

Hunting

 
 

No hunting

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Ecological Classification

  Ecological Classification  
  Ecological Province    

Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province

   
  Ecological Section    

Minnesota & NE Iowa Morainal

   
  Ecological Subsection    

St. Paul-Baldwin Plains and Moraines

   
  Land Type Association    

Pig’s Eye Alluvial Plain

   
             
 

Native Plant Communities*

   
 

Black Ash - Yellow Birch - Red Maple - Basswood Swamp (Eastcentral)

Northern Bulrush - Spikerush Marsh

Silver Maple - (Virginia Creeper) Floodplain Forest

   
  * Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources      
         
 

Natural Features

     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boat Required

Pigs Eye Island Heron Rookery SNA is accessible only by boat.

 

canoe

 

 

 

What’s in a Name?

In 1838 distillers were banned from Fort Saint Anthony, later known as Fort Snelling. One bootlegger, a retired French Canadian fur trader named Pierre Parrant, moved downstream to the north bank of the Mississippi River. Pierre’s knickname was “Pig’s Eye”, and the area became known by that name. It was later renamed St. Paul.

 

 

 

 

           
 
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Slideshows
 
 
     
     

 

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Other Videos
 
     
     
     

 

Camcorder

           
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

Visits

                 
 
 

Birds

 
 

Two bird species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:

Special Concern

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri)

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Birds List

Minnesota DNR Bird checklist

 
         
 

Insects and Arachnids

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Insects List

 
         
 

Plants

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and Minnesota Biological Survey Vegetation Releves Plant List

 
 

Plants frequently found in:

Black Ash - Yellow Birch - Red Maple - Basswood Swamp (Eastcentral) WFn55b

Northern Bulrush - Spikerush Marsh MRn93

Silver Maple - (Virginia Creeper) Floodplain Forest FFs68a

     
         

 

 

Binoculars

 

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