Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary

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Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary
The Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary looking toward the Mississippi River
Location	Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Coordinates	44°57′3″N 93°4′17″W / 44.95083°N 93.07139°W / 44.95083; -93.07139
Created	2005
Operated by	St. Paul Parks and Recreation

The Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary is a city park in the Mississippi River corridor in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Just east of the city's downtown district, the sanctuary includes towering limestone and sandstone bluffs that date back more than 450 million years, spring-fed wetlands, abundant bird life, and dramatic views of the downtown Saint Paul skyline and Mississippi River. The park was opened to the public on May 21, 2005, and was named after its early supporter U.S. Representative Bruce Vento.^[1]

The sanctuary has a rich ecological and human history. Once a floodplain where

In 1837, the Dakota ceded their lands east of the Mississippi River (35 million acres) after the early American expansion of the 1830s. Fourteen years later, the Mdewakanton Dakota ceded their lands west of the river for reservations up to the Minnesota River. After the Dakota were forced to leave, European immigrants took over the land and cultivated it, leading to industrial expansions.[3] The North Star Brewery was built into the bluff in 1853 and later became Jacob Schmidt's first brewery. In the 1880s the land was claimed for industrial use, resulting in the expansion of railroads and the destruction of the Wakan Tipi petroglyphs.

Abandoned in the 1970s, the 27 acres (11 ha) of land were purchased through a broad partnership, and became a Saint Paul park in 2005.^[4] An additional 1.85 acres (0.75 ha) of adjacent industrial land were purchased and added to the park in 2008. The sanctuary's floodplain forests, oak woodlands, prairies and other native ecosystems are being carefully restored and the park has gained state and national recognition for its combination of ecological and cultural resources — and for the community involvement in its transformation.

Owned and operated by the

Planned efforts include a direct pedestrian/bicycle trail connection to the Mississippi River and redeveloping the land adjacent to the sanctuary for an interpretive center and other park-related use.

• Bruce Vento Regional Trail

• Mississippi River and Recreation Area
• Lower Phalen Creek Project
• Saint Paul Department of Parks and Recreation Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary Information
• Friends of Swede Hollow
• Historic Saint Paul
• Community Design Center of Minnesota
• Trust for Public Land
• Dayton's Bluff Community Council
• Capitol River Council