From atop a steep hill, you could see more than a mile to the south. There was a lake ringed by lily pads and cattails at the foot of the hill. On one side, hardwood forest climbed away from the water, while the rest of the shoreline rose in rolling hills covered in lush grasses that swayed in the breeze. Blue skies with white clouds like popcorn stretched over the vast vista.

“Everything we can see is protected,” said Bob McGillivray of the Trust for Public Land.

In the past year, a huge land protection deal in northern Washington County has permanently preserved more than 2,000 acres of land. It will soon be open to the public for hiking, wildlife watching, hunting, and more. On Wednesday, it was part of a tour of places in the area where people have been trying new ways of living with the land — benefiting water, wildlife, and humans.

The Kelley Land and Cattle Co. farm, situated on either side of busy Manning Avenue, has long been a landmark. It features broad expanses of grasslands that remind many people of the Great Plains.

Much of the land was first purchased and developed in the 1880s by well-known Stillwater lumber baron Isaac Staples, who used it to produce food for his logging camps. A busy railroad station called Maple Island operated nearby. In 1958, it was purchased by St. Paul lawyer James E. Kelley and developed into a working ranch. Its vast grassy pastures stretching to the horizons housed herds of cattle, and also hosted hunters and bird dogs on parts of the property as part of the private Maple Island Hunt Club.

At the time of European settlement, the land was surveyed as “Aspen-Oak Land” and “Oak Openings and Barrens.” For a long time before that, it was likely a fertile area for Indigenous people, including the Dakota and Ojibwe. It would have provided game, fish, and medicine. The lakes may have once held wild rice.

Protection priority

Kelley Farm is situated in a lumpy glacial landscape called the St. Croix Stagnation Moraines. It is a distinctive type of country, with wetlands and ponds in the low areas, separated by small rocky ridges often covered in oaks. Big Marine Lake to the north drains through the property down a creek fed by the trickling flow of all those ponds, and eventually to the St. Croix River.

The protection of the property is being hailed as a major accomplishment. Funded by a sales tax authorized by Minnesota’s 2008 Legacy Amendment, the Metropolitan Council, and Washington County, the project will protect sensitive lands and open up significant tracts to the public.

Approximately 600 acres on the east side of Manning Avenue will be added to Big Marine Regional Park, while more than a thousand acres on the west side will be owned by the Department of Natural Resources and operated as a wildlife management area.

“This was one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in single ownership in the metropolitan area,” McGillivray said. “It’s been a high priority for decades.”

When the Kelley family contacted the county about ten years ago, saying they were starting to think about selling the land, it became a top priority for the government and its partners. It has taken a significant amount of time and effort by everybody to make the complex transaction happen.

Because the Metropolitan Council is paying 75 percent of the cost for the land that will be added to Big Marine Park, and the agency only has a certain amount of funding available each year, the acquisition of the eastern properties will happen over three years.

“Not every landowner has the patience to wait like that,” said Fran Miron, Washington County commissioner for the district that includes the new public land. He and others praised the Kelley family for their commitment to the land’s conservation.

High quality habitat

While the ranch has been used for agriculture for more than a century, the Kelleys and the Grogan family, the farmers who ran the property for two generations, have been good stewards. They used rotational grazing, moving their cattle every sixteen days between some 55 different fenced pastures. This practice promotes healthy soil and diverse plant life. The property includes multiple complete lakes and ponds, as well as numerous healthy wetlands.

“A lot of wetlands don’t need any attention,” said Kelly Straka, wildlife division director for the Department of Natural Resources.

The state, county, Trust for Public Land, Ducks Unlimited, and other organizations have plans to improve the areas that need help returning to a natural condition. The pastures will be restored to native prairie, invasive species will be removed, and more. Meanwhile, both the state and county properties will also have some infrastructure added for passive recreation. Hunting will be allowed in the Wildlife Management Area on the west side, while the park property on the east will offer hiking, skiing, and such. Access points, parking lots, trails, and other facilities will be developed.

“This property looks great already, in another five years it will be fabulous,” McGillivray said.

The DNR is planning a public engagement period this fall and winter to gather input from citizens about how the wildlife management area should be regulated. While hunting will be allowed, it may be somewhat restricted to keep firearm discharges far from roads and residences. The possibility of continuing dog training and trials is also being explored. The addition to Big Marine Park is expected to be open to the public in 2028.

Next week: Two other sites on the conservation tour feature varying ways to do rural residential development that helps protect land, water, wildlife, and more.