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Environmental News
Dan Kraker
Duluth

New North Shore preserve protects rare wetlands and geology

beach shore and flowers
Evening primrose blooms in the newly designated Icelandite Coastal Fen Scenic and Natural Area along the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Courtesy of Kelly Randall via Minnesota DNR

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After more than a quarter century of effort, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has protected a rare wetland with unusual geologic features as part of the state’s newest nature preserve.

The 25-acre Icelandite Coastal Fen Scientific and Natural Area, located 11 miles northeast of Grand Marais, preserves one of only two known fens on Lake Superior’s North Shore. A fen is a rare wetland fed by slow-moving groundwater, made up of a thick layer of peat.

“We don’t have anything like it protected in the state,” said Judy Elbert, SNA program supervisor for the Minnesota DNR. “The SNA is truly unique, for both its ecological and geological features.” 

The site features a volcanic lava rock called icelandite, which is rare in the Midwest. It’s a lighter gray than the dark basalt more typically found on the North Shore. Both kinds of rock are about 1.1 billion years old.

State officials first recommended the site for protection in 1988. The agency was able to purchase the land in 2021 from the Minnesota Department of Transportation for $300,000 with help from a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant and The Nature Conservancy.

A stretch of the Superior Hiking Trail that runs along Lake Superior follows the cobble beach through the SNA, which is sandwiched between the lake and Highway 61.

view of a beach
A view of the cobble beach in the Icelandite Coastal Fen Scenic and Natural Area along the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Courtesy of Minnesota DNR

Scenic and natural areas receive the highest level of protection among Minnesota’s state-owned lands.

“Our purpose, our tagline that we like to say is we’re preserving the best of Minnesota’s remaining natural heritage,” said AmberBeth VanNingen, northeast region scenic and natural area specialist for the Minnesota DNR.

VanNingen likens them to nature preserves. “We focus on representative examples of Minnesota’s natural heritage of different plant communities, water bodies, geologic features, and we also focus on providing habitat and places for rare species,” she said.

A dedication of the new Icelandite Coastal Fen SNA will be held Sept. 7 at 1 p.m., with guest speakers and a guided walk through the site.