Itasca Wilderness Sanctuary SNA

About

The Itasca Wilderness Sanctuary holds an important place in Minnesota's conservation history. It was established in 1939 within Itasca State Park at the suggestion of the Minnesota Academy of Science, to preserve a part of the wilderness character of the state that existed prior to logging and settlement. In 1965, it became Minnesota's first National Natural Landmark. Most of the Sanctuary (1601 acres) was designated a state Scientific and Natural Area in 1983, as the finest example of Great Lakes Pine Forest in north-central Minnesota.

The SNA is located along the western side of Lake Itasca and protects roughly two miles of undeveloped shoreline along the lake. A mosaic of eighteen native plant communities occupy the site, dominated by fire-dependent red pine–white pine forest communities. As related by DNR forester Chris Gronewald, the SNA contains 848 acres of designated old-growth forest in 16 stands. Among these, a 1998 inventory documented a 190-year-old red pine stand and 200-year- old white pine stand.

Mesic hardwood forests are also well represented in the SNA, composed of sugar and red maple, basswood, aspen and birch. Low-lying areas support a diversity of communities ranging from shrub, tamarack and white cedar swamps, to sedge meadow, marsh and rich fen. Open water habitats add diversity, including two lakes—Bohall Lake and the smaller Snail Lake, and stretches of Boutwell and Nicollet Creeks. Many nameless little spring-fed streams filter into Lake Itasca.

More than 280 native plant species have been documented here, including several varieties of lady's-slipper orchids. State-listed plant species include but are not limited to Oakes' pondweed (endangered in Minnesota), cuckoo flower and goblin fern (both threatened in Minnesota).

In its earliest days, management of the Sanctuary was guided by the philosophy that it should "remain unaltered by man" and "its fate determined by natural forces alone." Over time, it became clear that human activities on the larger landscape (in particular, fire suppression) presented a problem for the site's pine forests. Studies of historic fire frequency by researcher Sidney Frissel, Jr. and others pointed to the importance of fire in providing "the necessary combination of mineral seed beds, reduced shrub competition, and thinned overstory" needed for pine regeneration.* When this natural disturbance is lacking, managers must now conduct prescribed burns if there is to be another generation of pines to take the place of today's old-growth trees.

The Itasca Wilderness Sanctuary was preserved with a purpose in mind, to be a place "where, through the study of its many plants, animals, soils, and waters, man may yet understand and appreciate the life in this region in its primeval condition." During her former tenure as a volunteer site steward here, Janet Rith-Najarian helped to advance this ideal by steadily building a biogeography database for the SNA, documenting observations of flora and fauna on the iNaturalist on-line platform.

Unlike many SNAs, this site does have a few trails. One of these leads to an overlook on Bohall Lake. Another leads to a red pine tree that was the former state record holder (and national co-champion) for size. Before it lost its tip (and its titles) this tree was 126' tall, with a 120" circumference, and aged at over 300 years old when cored. Fortunately, other pines of the same stand remain, of comparable—if not record-worthy—grandeur.

This area of the park truly is a place apart, retaining much of its wilderness character. According to park naturalist Connie Cox, black bears and bobcats rear their young in the Sanctuary, Solitary Sandpipers feed in ephemeral pools, Trumpeter Swans return in spring to Bohall Lake, and the boreal forest still rings with its trademark sounds, from the foraging taps of Black-backed Woodpeckers to the howls of winter wolves.