Hormel Nature Center Critical Habitat Restoration

The Hormel Nature Center (HNC) comprises 518 acres and is among the largest and most important blocks of contiguous habitat in a three county area of the SE MN/NE IA Morainal landscape (Oak Savanna Subsection of ECS). It supports over 300 acres of remnant/restored tallgrass prairie/wetland/savanna and 110 acres of high quality terrace forest. The HNC habitat complex is a significant node of habitat along the Dobbins Creek stream corridor (including Eastside Lake and the Cedar River just to the west), along with the Ramsey Mill WMA and Wild Indigo SNA both within 1.5 miles to the north/northwest.

HNC is also a regionally important environmental education center serving multiple thousands of school children each year by providing environmental programming. In addition, HNC conducts many on-site programs and activities for the general public and conservation organizations such as birding, wetland/aquatic wildlife exploration, cross-country skiing, nature observation/art, and many more.

The Hormel Nature Center Critical Habitat Restoration Project seeks to build on significant habitat restoration efforts that the City of Austin/Friends of Hormel Nature Center have undertaken in recent years. Those efforts have included the recent purchase of over 100 acres of land and the restoration of over 165 acres of species-rich mesic/wet prairie to former crop ground. The City has also successfully conducted several pilot oak savanna restoration projects to test which savanna restoration methods would be most effective at HNC.

The proposed project seeks to restore an additional 50 acres of species-rich mesic/wet prairie to former crop ground and conduct 25 acres of oak savanna habitat restoration.

Goals of the project are to improve habitat quality for game (particularly white-tail deer, ring-neck pheasant, waterfowl, and mourning dove), as well as nongame species (including pollinators, five state-listed species known to occur at HNC and the 23 documented Species in Greatest Conservation Need).

The City of Austin/Hormel Nature Center has been actively engaged in natural areas management for many years and is excited about the potential to accelerate prairie/savanna habitat restoration efforts. We feel strongly that this effort will result in benefits for wildlife habitat, water quality in Dobbins creek (identified as a key watershed for restoration), as well as increase environmental education and nature recreation opportunities.