Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation July 23, 1998 Minneopa State Park Management Plan July 23, 1998 Acknowledgments Thank you to the members of the Citizen Advisory Committee for all the hours of their time they donated to help guide the development of this plan. MINNEOPA STATE PARK CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE John Rollings Jon Kutz Paul & Joan Anderson Bernie Lindberg Dean Ehlers Jim & Marilyn Raske Brand Frentz Dr. R. D. Zehnder Merrill Frydendall Julie Conrad Gordon H. Herbst Thank you to the Blue Earth River Team (BERT) for serving as the DNR Ecosystem Based Management Team for the Minneopa Plan. DNR ECOSYSTEM BASED MANAGEMENT TEAM Al Berner Ed Brekke-Kramer DNR Farmland Wildlife Regional Park Resource Research Unit Specialist Bob Beck Hugh Valiant Regional Park Naturalist DNR Area Fisheries Manager Bob Hobart Joel Anderson Real Estate Management DNR Area Wildlife Manager Bob Kaul John Schladweiler Trails & Waterways DNR Non-game Wildlife Specialist Randy Schindle Area Forester Leo Getsfried DNR Waters Cathy Fouchi Blue Earth River Team Coordinator Thomas Polasik, Howard Ward, Charles Mitchell, Park Planner Manager Regional Manager Division of Parks and Minneopa State Park Division of Parks and Recreation Rt 9, Box 143 Recreation 500 Lafayette Road Mankato, MN 56001-8219 261 Hwy 15 South St. Paul MN 55155-4039 (507) 389-5464 New Ulm, MN 56073-8915 (651) 297-5644 (507) 359-6060 Minneopa State Park Management Plan July 23, 1998 Minneopa State Park Management Plan July 23, 1998 MINNEOPA STATE PARK “PRELIMINARY” DRAFT MANAGEMENT PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .................................................1 Park Description.........................................................1 Unit Planning Process ....................................................3 II. MISSION AND VISION ..........................................4 Department of Natural Resources Vision .....................................4 Division of Parks and Recreation Mission and Vision ...........................4 Division of Parks And Recreation Mission ..............................4 Division of Parks And Recreation Vision ...............................4 Minneopa State Park Mission and Vision.....................................5 Minneopa State Park Mission ........................................5 Minneopa State Park Vision .........................................5 Summary of Recommended Management Actions .........................6 III. REGIONAL ANALYSIS ........................................12 Regional Population Analysis .............................................12 Regional Recreation Resources............................................12 Regionaltourism Impact..................................................13 Park Visitor Analysis....................................................14 Regional Recreation Patterns..............................................15 IV. INVENTORY OF EXISTING RECREATIONAL FACILITIES, AND NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES ....................................................17 Recreation Resources....................................................17 Existing Development .............................................17 Natural Resources ......................................................24 Minnesota River Prairie ...........................................24 Climate .........................................................25 Geology and Minerals .............................................25 Soils ...........................................................27 Water Resources .................................................30 Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species ...................30 Vegetation ......................................................32 Minneopa State Park Management Plan i July 23, 1998 Fish, and Wildlife .................................................37 Mammals.................................................38 Fish......................................................44 Birds.....................................................41 Reptiles and Amphibians .....................................41 Cultural Resources......................................................42 Park History .....................................................42 Archaeology .....................................................42 Historic Features .................................................43 V. ECOSYSTEM BASED MANAGEMENT, AND NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT .........46 Ecosystem Based Management ............................................46 Natural and Cultural Resources Management.................................46 Natural Resources Management Objectives ..................................46 Cultural Resources Management Objectives..................................49 VI. RECREATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT .............51 Recreation Management Objectives ........................................51 Proposed Development ..................................................52 Overnight Facilities ...............................................52 Day Use Facilities ................................................53 VII. INTERPRETIVE SERVICES .................................. 60 Introduction ...........................................................60 Interpretive Clientele....................................................61 Interpretive Themes.....................................................61 Summary of Existing Interpretive Services...................................63 Interpretive Services Recommendations.....................................64 VIII. FACILITY AND BUILDING MANAGEMENT ..............65 Administrative Facilities Management Objectives .............................65 IX. PARK BOUNDARY .............................................68 Boundary Modification ..................................................68 Existing Statutory Boundary ..............................................68 Minneopa State Park Management Plan ii July 23, 1998 Proposed Statutory Boundary .............................................68 X. OPERATIONS, STAFFING, AND COSTS ....................71 Operations and Staffing..................................................71 Costs.................................................................72 XI. PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY ...............74 Tourism ..............................................................75 Volunteers ............................................................76 Partnerships...........................................................77 XII. PLAN MODIFICATION PROCESS ...........................78 XIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY ...............................................80 List of Maps...........................................................82 List of Tables..........................................................82 © State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources, 1998 Minneopa State Park Management Plan iii July 23, 1998 Minneopa State Park Management Plan iv July 23, 1998 I. INTRODUCTION PARK DESCRIPTION Minneopa State Park includes 1,216 acres of old glacial river terraces, riparian forests south of the Minnesota River, and Minneopa Creek gorge. Within Minneopa State Park is southern Minnesota’s largest waterfall and the remains of the Seppmann Windmill, a historic structure of regional significance. Minneopa State Park is located off State Highways 169, and 68, three miles west of Mankato in Blue Earth County. One of the main attractions to Minneopa State Park is the double waterfall of Minneopa Creek, for which the park is named, and the gorge the creek has created. The word Minneopa means “water falling twice” or “two waterfalls” in the Dakota Indian language. The first falls drops about ten feet and the second at least 40 feet. Other attractions to the park include the beautiful views of the Minnesota Valley. The history of the Minneopa State Park is rich and varied. On the Blue Earth River, near where it enters the Minnesota River is the famous bed of clay which the Dakota Indians called “mankato,” or blue earth. This clay was highly valued and was used for decoration and for ceremonial purposes. It also attracted early European explorers. This bluish-gray clay was mistakenly identified as copper. Under the commission of the French government, Pierre LeSueur visited the area with 30 soldiers and miners during the fall of 1700. The expedition traveled by boat up the Minnesota and Blue Earth rivers to the mouth of the LeSueur River and built Fort L’Huillier. A quantity of the clay was sent to France where it was discovered that it did not contain copper. The Dakota forced the LeSueur party to cache their tools and abandon the area in 1703. Minneopa Creek was known to the early pioneers as Falls Creek or Lyons Creek. The latter is a reference to Isaac S. Lyons, the first settler to build a cabin and locate a claim on its banks in July, 1853. In August of the following year, he built a small sawmill operated by water power which was the first mill west of the Blue Earth River. His log cabin stood at the foot of the west bluff. A wind-powered grist mill was constructed by Louis Seppmann and Herman Hagley between 1862 and 1864, on a site which lies within the park. The mill operated as a flour mill for its first 16 years. In 1873, lightning struck and destroyed two of its windmill blades; they were soon replaced. However, when a tornado again destroyed the blades in 1880, they were not replaced. The mill operated on two blades, as a feed mill, until 1890. Seppmann Mill was placed on the National