Greenway corridors are the backbone of the Minneapolis Park System. These corridors, originally planned by Horace Cleveland and developed under the direction of Superintendent Theodore Wirth, connect the natural features of the Minneapolis Regional Park System to the City’s neighborhoods.  

Native Plant Communities and Planted Natural Areas

Park natural areas are made up of native plant communities and areas planted with native plants. Since the 1980s MPRB has worked to restore native plant communities and increase the use of native plants throughout the park system.  Approximately 400 acres of the system’s 1,200 acres of natural areas are managed by staff, volunteers, community partners and contracted services.  

Storymap: MPRB’s Managed Natural Areas

Introduced in 2023, this interactive GIS map features information on the history of and current management efforts for Managed Natural Areas in the park system.

Natural Areas Management 

Native Plant Communities - Oak TreeManagement of natural areas primarily focuses on control of invasive and weedy plants to enhance native plant regeneration. Natural areas are managed with a variety of tools including prescribed burning and mowing.

Priority areas for natural areas management are:

  • Native plant communities with good ecological quality.
  • Park lands that were planted as part of park redesign with native plants.

Learn more about the history and current management efforts for the Managed Natural Areas in our Managed Natural Areas Storymap.

Invasive Species Control

Invasive species control is a large part of natural areas management. Invasive plants suppress native plant growth and abundance, degrade wildlife habitat and reduce the ability of an ecosystem to recover from disturbances and environmental changes.

Why is there so much buckthorn?

Buckthorn was frequently planted as an ornamental hedge and can still be found today in many Minneapolis neighborhoods. The fruits of buckthorn are spread by birds, moving buckthorn seeds from residential properties into park lands. 

What you can do to help control buckthorn

Learn about Invasive Species
Buckthorn isn’t the only invasive species we work to control in our parks. Learn more about invasive species found in park lands and waters on the invasive species section of our website. 

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is a good source of information on invasive species found in the state of Minnesota and their impact on land and water resources.

Replace buckthorn with native shrubs
The
Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has listed buckthorn on their Noxious Weed list as a “restricted” noxious weed.  This means buckthorn can no longer be planted or sold in Minnesota nurseries. Property owners are not required to remove buckthorn from their property.

Removing buckthorn from residential properties helps park natural areas. Replacing buckthorn with native plants provides better food for pollinators and wildlife.  There are several local nurseries that sell native plants for landscaping.

Natural Areas Assessment

In 2017 the MPRB contracted with Applied Ecological Services (AES) to implement a study of park natural areas. The goal of this study was to better understand the ecological condition of park natural areas and develop management strategies and associated costs for improving their ecological quality and function.  

PrairiePhase I (2017-2018) of the project consisted of developing a Geographical Information system (GIS) to map and categorize park natural areas by plant community type.  An ecological quality ranking system for Minneapolis urban park system was also developed. The consultants presented a written report to the MPRB [PDF] in 2017

Phase II (2018-2021) of the study includes a field assessment of all park natural areas, mapping refinements and development of a written Natural Areas plan with management recommendations. Management recommendations include an analysis of costs involved to improve ecological quality and function of park natural areas. This project was completed in 2021.

A condensed version of the Natural Areas plan containing the Executive Summary and Management Briefs can be accessed in the link below:
MPRB Natural Areas Plan Phase II – Condensed Version [PDF]

Volunteer

Consider volunteering with one of our park stewardship groups to help control buckthorn and other invasive species in our parks. 

Spring activities

In the spring we work to control invasive garlic mustard thorough volunteer pulls.   

Fall activities

Late September to early November, we work with park stewardship groups pulling buckthorn. At this time buckthorn is easy to identify as buckthorn leaves stay green late into the fall, after the native plants turn fall color or leaves have fallen for the season.

Volunteer

Tree management in forested natural areas