Description
"The mountain" of Seven Sisters Prairie rises 190 feet above Lake Christina. It offers visitors a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside and of Lake Christina—an important stop for many species of waterfowl during migration—and of the rolling topography of the Alexandria moraine (including the Seven Knolls, or the "Sisters").
Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
This acquisition was made to protect the gravel prairie that occurs on this site.
What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
The Nature Conservancy purchased the land from the Richard A. Trow estate in July 1978 to protect the gravel prairie. A wildfire burned the entire preserve in 1980, and a second wildfire burned part of it in 1982. Grazing ended and fire was reintroduced as a management tool at the preserve when the Conservancy acquired it. Controlled fires reduce plant debris accumulated from previous growing seasons and suppress invasion by woody species.
Measures to control invasive European buckthorn and prickly ash are especially important to the health of the preserve. Erosion threatens a population of broom-rape which grows in and around the gully. The rim of the gravel pit is especially vulnerable to human erosion and visitors are asked to avoid this area.