Quarry Park SNA

323 Acres Located in Waite Park. From MN Hwy 23, S on 10th Ave S, then W on 7th St. Entrance to Quarry Park is on S; SNA is at S border of the park. Stearns County Twp 124N Rng 28W Sec 29 Type: Deciduous Woods ECS Subsection: Anoka Sand Plain

Description:

Granite bedrock outcrops lace their way through Quarry Park SNA among high quality wet meadow, wet prairie, oak woodland, and oak forest. This mix of communities supports rare birds and orchids and forms the most significant remaining example of the granite bedrock outcrop community in central Minnesota. Bedrock here is never more than 20 inches from the surface of shallow, loamy soils, and it emerges frequently along the flat to gently sloping terrain. The site, on the southwestern edge of St. Cloud, is the south part of the Stearns County Quarry Park and Nature Preserve, a 250-acre park depicting the granite industry, historically significant to the area. Look for Minnesota's largest population of the state-endangered tubercled rein-orchid among the scattered willow and dogwood lining the margins of the site's wet meadows. The woodlands and forest harbor breeding populations of the red-shouldered hawk, listed as a special concern in Minnesota. The SNA Program acquired a conservation easement from the County to permanently protect this site.

Bird List

Plant List