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North American Prairie Conference
Field Trip Information Summary
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
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Chester Woods County Park |
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Brief
description of site and highlights of site (habitat, flora, fauna): |
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The various prairie remnants in this county park have
benefited from
active management and restoration.
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Chester Woods has a range of habitat, including sand
prairie, bluff prairie, oak savanna, mesic, fen, plus various woodland
types on its 1300 acres.
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Prairie types include bluff, sand, mesic, and fen.
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The nursery provides local origin seed for restoration.
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There is also oak savanna and oak woodlands as well as
other woodlands.
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We plan to visit several interesting sites with different
prairie types as well as learn the county's experience with management.
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We will have options for hikes. There will be easy hikes
of about 1-2 miles, on wide, easy paths. More adventurous folks may want
to take longer hikes on and off trail – both on your own and with a
leader. The trails are well maintained and well marked
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Dress for the weather – sun, heat, etc. Good paths allow
you to see much, but off-trail hiking in tall grass reveals interesting
details.
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Bring your camera and binoculars – the variety of plants,
birds, and insects provides lots to see and photograph.
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| Walking distance,
rigor, potential hazards: |
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Round trip walking distance from bus: Varies from < 100
yards on some sites up to 1 mile one-way for other sites. (so it will
depend on which sites we choose to visit.)
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Rigor
of field trip: Easy to moderate, depending on hike options.
- Poison Ivy in
some areas. There are good trails to the prairies.
Once in the prairies
there is some moderately rough terrain that people can choose to enjoy or
avoid.
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Area
of site (approximate acreage): |
Park
is 1330 acres; prairie sites range from 0.5 to 30 acres |
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Duration of field trip: |
All
day |
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Access
for charter bus loading/unloading/parking: |
Excellent. And we should be able to drive the bus close to some of
the
sites within the park |
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Availability of drinking water, rest rooms, shade: |
Excellent
in the developed part of the park. When we are at the more distant prairies
there will not be facilities. Shade is always
reasonably close. |
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General location (direction/distance from nearest town):
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3
miles west of Eyota, MN on US highway 14 |
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Distance from Winona, MN: |
37
miles west on US highway 14 |
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Potential leader(s)/guide(s): |
Joel
Dunnette, plus 1 or more park staff |