Wilcox, Arthur N.

English

University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM): Digital Well

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science Volume 18 Number 1 Article 4 5-1950 The Development of the Cedar Creek Forest Natural History Area Arthur N. Wilcox Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/jmas  Part of the Forest Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Wilcox, A. N. (1950). The Development of the Cedar Creek Forest Natural History Area. Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science, Vol. 18 No.1, 163-168. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/jmas/vol18/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science by an authorized editor of University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well. For more information, please contact skulann@morris.umn.edu. I· /, PROCEEDINGS, VOLUME EIGHTEEN, 1950 163 ' THE ·DEVELOPMENT OF THE CEDAR CREEK .. FOREST NATURAL HISTORY AREA· ARTHUR N. WILCOX Chairman of the Committee on the Preservation of Natural. Conditions · The Cedar Creek Forest, located in Anoka and 'Isanti Counties, Minnesota, is a natural history area established for scientific· and educational purposes. Its preservation through the joint efforts of the Minnesota Academy of Science and. the University of Minne-sota, with the aid of many public-spirited citizens, is a noteworthy achievement. Since the inception of this project in 1940, approxi-mately 600 acres of relatively wild land of exceptional ecological interest and within 30 miles of the University and several .other col-· leges have been acquired. Research facilities, including a headquar-ters cabin and excellent aerial photographs and maps, have been developed. The area has come into use for research studies by fac-ulty members arid graduate students and. for observation by classes . from four colleges in the state and from several departments of the University of Minnesota. This report on the development to date and the present use of the project is made in accordance with a recommendation in the 1949 report of the Committee for the Preser~ vation of Natural Conditions as adopted at the annual meeting of the Minnesota Academy of Science. A map of the general area ac-companies this report. · · ' Cedar Creek Forest is apparently a southern relict outpost of the· Canadian type of forest and the only-example of that forest located so close to Minneapolis and St. Paul and to the colleges and univer-sities in that region; Here on the hills and slopes are found all three · kinds of pine that are native-to Minnesota as well as old prostrate junipers and many species of hardwood trees: Tamarack, white . cedar; and black spruce are abundant in the swamps. The white pine, 1 · white cedar, a,nd black ~pruce occur in dense stands:Birds and mam-mals of the northern forest inhabit the area. The ruffed grouse and the Canada spruce grouse are found here and this is the southernmost - place in Minnesota where the-Canada jay can be seen regularly. Even the rare arctic three-toed woodpecker has been watched here. Deer a.re numerous and beavers have recently been active along the c_reek. The survival of this refuge may have been due in part to its separation from the main bo_dy of- the forest and in part to its isola-tion by swamp land from encroachment and fire. Now· that it is being preserved, the area should increase in value with the passing years. · Soon after the appointment of the Committee. on- the Preserva-tion of Natural Conditions in 1937, its att'ep.tion was called to th~ desirability of a portion of this area by Dr. Willjam S. Cooper, who · 164 ·THE MINNESOTA AcADEMY OF SciENCE had become acquainted with the area after discovering 'it, from the air. The preservation o.f this portion, known as Cedar Creek Bog, including a small lake, bog, and wooded swamp; was recommended .]' in the committee's first report, published in the 1938 Proceedings. · During the follpwing year a closer study of the region revealed the advisability .of setting aside a larger area than was first proposed, ,11 not only to include additional features of. forest, meadowland, and · stream, but also to provide a reasonable range for the preservation ·I of the wild life that was so· abundant. In 1939 the Academy. ap-proved the committee's recommendatipn that special efforts he .made to preserve at least 800 and possibly up to 1600 acres. This. would include a hilly region nearly surrounded. by lower land, with _two small lak_es and more than a mile of a constantly fl.owing creek bordered in part by open meadows. Aside from ,this meadow and two clearings of crop land, the area was principally covered with ·1 timber. It was recognized that the area to be preserved ·should be compact and have easily defined boundaries. . . , DEEDED TO UNIVERSITY The purposes for which this land was desired· seemed to justify arid require a tax-free status. Careful consideration ·of several pos-sibilities led to the conclusion that tlie University or Minnesota' would be the most suitable public agency to preserve this area and. administer it wisely for its intended uses.· In the _spring of 1940, · therefore, President Guy Stanton Ford of the University was ap- -proached concerning the possibility that the University would ac-cept and preserve the land if the Academy• could obtain gifts from priva,te sources to make the acquisition possible. On April 12, 1940, the Regents of the University of Minnesota gave the proposal fa-vorable consideration. There were then two principal tasks to be undertaken, the nego. tiation of a.formal agreement with the University and the acquisi-. tion of a sufficient nucleus of land to assure the success of the project. Both of these tasks were furthered by the generous help of Mr. Charles Keyes, of Minneapolis, who contributed his services as counsel. In the course of the drafting of the_ agreement by Mr. Keyes, the chairman of the committee frequently consulted the offi-cers and trustees of the Academy as well as _pther members of the .- committee, and Mr. Fred B. Snyder, Chairman of the Board of Re-gents. On December 11, 1942, the agreement between the Academy and the University was executed, providing for the conveyance of the lands and the establishment and administration of the Cedar . ◄-. Creek Forest, as it was officially designated. A copy of this agree-. ment •is in the files of the Academy. It provided, in summary, that certain lands had been or would be transferred to the Regents, who, in -turn, would keep. and preserve them as fat as possible in the I.' ' /\ . . PRO~EEDINGS, V OLU~ EIGHTEEN, 1950 , 165 'natur~l conditi~n ~s ~· refuge for the -i~dig~no:us• pl~nt. and ~nimal. life; would administer the area so as .to encourage. its wise use_for .scientific and educational purposes, particularly for natural 'history · studies; would permit the Academy to cooperate in -fostering and carrying out such studies; and under r~asonable regulations would keep the· 'area accessible to qualified persons, such access and u·se · not being limited to persons having an official connection ·with the - . University. The University a,lso agreed to set up ·a committee rep-resenting various fields of natural 4istory to have the care and su--pervision .of the Forest and its uses. In this connection it was the ·. desire .of the Academy that the adminisi;ration of the Forest shoul.d represent a broac;I point oJ view rather than that of any single inter-ested department. . : . · · ' ' The first forty-acre tract ,vas bought witli. funds raised by sub-· scription from about '25 members of the Academy.· Donations. were then obtained from ,m,any interested persons; from several societies, and from one charitable foundation .. Donations of money ranged in . amounts .from $5 to $1600 and of land from 40 to 130 acres. The Academy and its committee are grateful to the donors for these· generous contributions· and to a number of persons, including sev-eral presidents of the Academy, for their active help in obtaining • these gifts. . . _ . . .. ',Thdands already deeded to the University have a total area of 580 acres.1 Of these, 80 acres, designate9. as Tracts '25 and 32 on the accompanying map, were. deeded directly to the University 'by Dr. and Mrs. 4-. D. Corniea; and 50_ acres; including Tract 14 and additional land ea.st to the highway, by Mr. and Mrs. Glenn A. Car- · penter, both gifts with life-estate ·reservations. Several tracts-were_ also µesignated as meniorials: Tract 40, of 40 acres, as a memorial tq Frank E. Swanson _(a boulder near :the s~mtheast corner bears a bronze tablet); Tract 26, of 40 acres, as a memorial.to _Mr. Charle.s · l?unn of St. Paul through gifts frorrt' hi_s daughJer, Miss Helen Bunn; and Tracts 31, 38, 45, and south to the 'highway, 130 acres, given by Dr. and Mrs. Donald Lawrence as a living memorial to Dr. Law--rence's father,. William Charleton. Lawrence, who w~s a residenj; of Portland, O_regon. , _ · · . \ ADMINISTRATION ' In May, 1945, President Walter C. ,Coffey appointed Prof. A. N. Wilcox, Chairinan,·Prof. E. C. Abbe, Prof. D. E. Minnich; and Dean _ T. c: Blegen, ex-officio,' to serve as a committee to administer the Cedar Creek F9rest. It _was his judgment that the' administration ouglit to. be under the Dean of the Graduate School, and for that reason Dean'-Blegen was asked. to serve as an ex-officio member of . · ,the, committee. · •. - ' The following year President J. L. Morrill invited the Academy • .- • • ,· I ' 1 !~creased t~ 620 acres just before' the publication of thi·s volume . '. / 166 THE MINNESOTA AcADEMY · OF SCIENCE to select an advisory committee of thre,e to advise the University committee in the administration of the Forest and its uses. ,It was decided by the Academy that the members of this committee would serve first for one, two, and three-year terms respectively, and thereafter for three-year terms, one to expire each year; and that in view of University representation on the Administrative Commi,t-tee, the Advisory Committee should not; save under unusual cir-cumstances _and then for limitep periods of time, include members pf the University staff. The first committee, approved April 19, 1947, consisted of Prof.·O. T. Walter, of Macalester College, chairman and member for the· three-year term; Prof. Harvey Stork, of Carleton College, for the two-year .term; and the Rev. Dr. Adelard Thuente, of St. John's University, for the one-year term. Since 'the .appoint-ment of this committee, the two committees have follow·ed the practise of meeting together to consider matters relating to the Forest and its uses. · The administration of a natural history area so. as to encourage .its wise use for scientific a:nd educational purposes and to conserve and if possible develop its natural values can not be done simply through the imposition of rules. regulations, or standardized pro-cedures, but. requires the careful weighing and consideration of · many factors, some of which may be conflicting. Such administra-tion must seek to minimize both the loss or depletion of plants and animals through fire, hunting, collecting, or other disturbance and also the undesirable alterations arising from overpopula_tion, inva-sion, or the', introduction of exotics. Although the Forest is; in general, intended ·primarily for observation rather than experimen7 tation, it is recognized that carefully controlled experimentation and collecting are essential to some research uses. Furthermore, although access· by the public or by hunters or collectors would tend to de-plete the Forest" of many of its natural values, access for authorized use _and for protection, such as fire co"ntrol, needs to be asstJ.red. The · proximity of this area to a large center of population poses special problems. REGULATIONS ' The definition' of a_ few regulations has been considered necessary . . Persons wishing to use or visit the area are required to obtain per-mits in advance. Permit cards are issued by the chairman of the committee to individuals for their .own use or to the teachers or leaders who are responsible for classes or other groups. In the case of specific visits for observation only, the permits may be obtained_ either from the chairman or from the Museum of Natural History. . , ◄ Collecting is prohibited except when approved in advance and noted on the permit card. Users are to take all advisable precau-; tions against fire, defacement, and disturbance, including the. dis-PIWCEEDINGS, VOLUME EJGHTEEN, 1950 I 167 turliance of persons who hold life-estate reservations in portions of the area. -- , Research projects or other activities which involve collecting, experimentation, or other disturbance of natural conditions are to be carried out only after application to and approval by the com-mittee. Whenever,possible the original maps and records of surveys · and research -studies shall be filed with the committee· for preser-vation in the lil;>rary of the Museum of.Natural_ History. Copies of research reports or at.least five r,eprints of each printed publication shall be filed ,vith the committee for the same purpose. This library has been designateq. as the official repository for records concerning the Forest. · ' · These regulations are not intended to discourag.e ·legitimate uses of the Forest. They are a mechanism to aid in controlling its uses and to provide needed information. The purposes of such informa-. tion include the development of knowledge and data concerning the natural history of the.Forest and a record of the scientific and edu-c~tional activities for aid in obtaining financial s_upport. FACILITIES FOR RESEARCH A beginning has been made in providing facilities for research-ju the area in that the two most urgent needs have been satisfied,-the preparat_ion of maps and the establishment of a headquarters cabin for the storage of equipment and the temporary housing cif workers. One of the ,first acts of 'the combined committees was to make arrangements for· a request to the Graduate School of the Univer-sity for a grant of $409 for an aerial survey, which was then carried -out under the direction of Prof.· Donald B. Lawrence. The Forest and its surrounding area, about two by three miles, ,was photo-graphed on June 19, 194'7~ The 48 photographs were made on a scale of approximately 12 inches to one_ mile, and in a manner which permits stereoscopic viewing. From these photographs a large .mo-saic map was prepared. The mosaic map and a set of contact prints can be consulted at the Museum of-Natural History. The negatives and the index map ·11:re still in the care of Dr. Lawrence. Later, under another grant, the committee had the mosaic map copied and employed an experienced cartographer to draw· in the legend, scale, and a grid showing the approximate boundaries· of all 40-acre tracts in the general area, regardless of whethe_r they were included in the acquired lands. These tracts were consecutively ►. nu1:llb~red to facilitate e_asy. reference without the detailed legal d~-' -··script10ns. The county engmeers and surveyors were consulted m ' tl]-e preparation of this :map. Nevertheless, due to the lack of proper .monuments at section corners,, to poorly defined boundaries, and to di~tortions in the mosaic, thes~ grid lines must be recognized as . . I 168" THE MINNE~OTA ACADEMY OF, SCIENCE only approximating the legal boundaries. A half-tone plate ,vas then made for printing 'copies at a scale of 6 inches to I mile. These are intended as working maps for persons _visiting the area and for -field' m;e in recording ,distributions when the scale is adequate. This is the map which accompanies this report. In June, 1947, a cabin was provided to serve as headquarters and shelter for persons working in the area and as a storage place for equipment and tools. A foreman's shed was obtained from the Rose-mount Research Center, 'and by means of a grant from the Gradu- . ate School was reconditioned, moved to Cedar Creek Forest, and established near the southeast corner, of Tract 40. The following spring; through an additional grant from the G:iiduate.School and gifts from the Inventory DepartJ11ent, the cabin was simply fur-nished,. provided with the most essential tools, and materials were purchased for driving a well. The c~bin is now equipped so that two persons can use it for overnight stays in winter or summer. · FuTURE DEVELOPMENT In its first decade this project has been ~arried through. its most uncertain and probably most difficult period of development and is alr~ady, on a modest scale, beginning to serve its intended purposes of research and education. The development has. not been com-pleted, however. Approximately moo acres of land, half of which . have been ·acquired, should be included to provide the needed variety of ecological conditions apd to permit the desired control of boundaries and water rights. The establishment of a modest an-nual budget is desirable to provide funds for administration, main-. ~ tenance, the improvement of safety, and the acquisition of some : · ~ field ~quipment. Special support from outside sources may be ex- ~ pected for a fundamental, program of research which should, at an l eai·ly date, include the development of the-history of each tract and· the carrying out of surveys to reco_rd the current statu~ of plant · and animal distributions, soil types, and so forth. This program would. require a number of years for its completion. · Cedar Creek Forest presents a rare combinatiqn_ of convenient accessibility, relatively undisturbed natural conditions, and excep-tional ecological interest. Its continued development for the pur-poses and along the,Iines which have been set forth should provide an I unrivalled laboratory for many types of natural history studies and result in the enrichment of understanding of some of the im- · portant resources of Minnesota. · · · 

The Development of the Cedar Creek Forest Natural History Area

https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1893&context=jmas

The Development of the Cedar Creek Forest Natural History Area

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM): Digital Well