The St. Francis River snakes through the tall grasses and budding bushes. A cluster of pines blazes a fresh green against the afternoon sky. All around, the signs of spring are awakening the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge from its long winters nap.

 

For Refuge Manager Steve Karel, the changing of the four seasons is part of the draw that brought him to Sherburne County. Karel has been Refuge manager since August 2012 after coming to Minnesota, a part of the country he has always been passionate about, from the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas. 

 

Another new face to the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge is Visitor Services Manager Michelle Garcia. Garcia started in December 2014, formerly from the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa, and works with education, visitors, and volunteers. 

 

"My passion is connecting people of all ages to nature and the outdoors, and trying to get people to spend more time outside," said Garcia. 

 

A unique trait to Sherburne County is the sandy soil deposited by the last retreating glacier. The resulting lake plain scattered with wetlands is known as the Anoka Sand Plain.

 

When settlers tried to farm the land in the 1930s, they found what any local gardener knows: the soil drains quickly. After years of irrigation difficulties, the land was purchased from farmers and became the Sherburne National Wild-life Refuge in 1965.

 

The Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge sits on a unique ecosystem transition area. Sandwiched between the woods of northern Minnesota and the prairies to the south, the Refuge consists of wetlands, big woods and oak savanna habitats. 

 

When people think of endangered and rare ecosystems, they conjure images of redwood trees or tropical rain forests, but they don't realize there is an endangered ecosystem right in Sherburne County. 

 

"People don't know the value of what's here," commented Karel.

 

Oak Savanna is a unique habitat characterized by scattered, mature oak trees, some are centuries old, surrounded by prairie grasses and wildflowers such as wild lupine, blazing star, butterfly weed and prairie rose. 

 

The oak foliage scatters the sunlight to an array of plants that flourish in this filtered light and provide habitats for animals like the red-headed woodpecker, who thrive best in this specific environment.

 

"Prairies with trees" is the simple definition Karel gives this imperiled habitat.

 

The Oak Savanna ecosystem also is dependent on fire, and it has adapted to withstand frequent burnings. Oak trees have thick bark to protect from the heat and the prairie grasses have root systems 13 feet deep, which easily rejuvenate after burning the surface foliage.

 

Regular fires revive the native plants while also eradicating invasive species. The Refuge performs controlled burns on an average of 4,000-5,000 acres every year, revitalizing the total 30,700 acres every five years. So far this spring, they have finished nearly 2,000 acres of prescribed burns. 

 

Karel has many visions for the Refuge. With a strong wetland background from his work at Quivira, he plans to restore and manage the wetlands, which have become degraded with cattails and other invasive species.

 

He also has visions to restore and protect the native Oak Savanna. Many of the oaks in this habitat were cleared away when settlers attempted to farm the land. 

 

"It's not easy to recreate an oak savanna. Trees take hundreds of years to grow," added Garcia. 

 

Another vision, which has been in the works for a long time, is the opening of the Oak Savanna Learning Center in October. This new facility will provide a permanent space for environmental education and connecting people to the outdoors.