Slice of wilderness preserved

A 64-acre tract of land in Chisago County that Swedish immigrants bought in 1853 has become the latest parcel conserved for public use in the metro area.

Allemansratt Nature Reserve, as the land will be known, was owned by descendants of John Anderson, an early settler. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) bought most of the land from Mark Anderson and his wife, Katherine Delmont, and a smaller portion from Concordia University in St. Paul for a total of $1.37 million. On Wednesday, the TPL turned the land over to the city of Lindstrom, which has about 4,000 residents, to manage.

"It feels like you're way up north close to the Boundary Waters when you're actually minutes from the metro," said Bob McGillivray, the TPL senior project manager who closed the deal. "It's really got a peaceful feeling to it."

Allemansratt means "every man's right" in Swedish, reflecting the purpose of the land, which will remain undeveloped and open for public use, he said.

The land is thick with oak, maple, basswood, butternut and hickory trees. It has wetlands and steep ridges left by glaciers, McGillivray said. The land is habitat for owls, otters, beavers and deer and more than 100 species of birds, including rare bald eagles, red-shouldered hawks and Forster's terns.

"As time has gone along we've understood our role as stewards of the property rather than owners," Mark Anderson said Thursday. "Time has come to pass it on. You feel a certain obligation not to sell it to a developer and see it ripped apart."

Over the years the land was logged for firewood but never was clear-cut, said Anderson, a retired attorney. Butternut trees were cut to make ornamental moldings for houses, and tamarack trees went to sawmills to make lumber for barns and sheds, he said. The last cattle grazed there about 25 years ago.

"It's not like it sat there pristine," said Anderson. "Even though the property has been used, there hasn't been much degradation."

Anderson and his wife live on an adjacent 30-acre parcel of land that they would like to conserve someday.

Wednesday's acquisition is a critical one because the purchased land abuts 19 acres of city property and borders Bull Lake, McGillivray said. The purchase had been discussed since the 1990s, he said. The land also lies within the Sunrise River watershed, which feeds the St. Croix River.

Money for the purchase came from various grants, the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the city of Lindstrom. The city paid about $350,000 of the total cost and had been saving money for the purchase since the mid-1990s, said Mayor Keith Carlson.

"It's like wilderness in the middle of the city. It's good to have it for public land," he said.

The city will have an open house to get people involved with the reserve because "we want the land to be used and appreciated."

The TPL has acquired several strategic tracts of land in recent years, including 38 acres near Franconia in northern Washington County in June and 120 acres in Denmark Township, on the county's south end, in October.

Kevin Giles • 612-673-4432