Wayzata’s Big Woods Preserve will receive national recognition Sept. 24 when the 14-acre woodland is formally inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network.
The preserve will become the first site in Minnesota to receive the organization’s “Community Forest” designation, reserved for forests with particularly close ties to their surrounding communities. Eight other Minnesota forests are already part of the broader network.
A public ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. at the Big Woods Preserve trailhead, 1223 Wayzata Blvd. E., just east of Colonial Square. Remarks from City of Wayzata and Old-Growth Forest Network staff will be followed by a half-mile, family-friendly interpretive hike.
“It’s hard to overstate the significance of these woods,” said Wayzata City Forester Bennett Myhran. “An intact Big Woods ecosystem is a rare thing today, especially within a developed area. It’s incredible to see what’s become of this community conservation effort.”
The preserve is one of the remaining pieces of the hardwood forest that once covered a large portion of central Minnesota. Sugar maples and basswood dominate the woods, with native wildflowers appearing in the spring and a dense canopy covering much of the property during the summer.
The name has deep roots in Wayzata history. Early accounts of the community describe settlers making their way to Lake Minnetonka through the heavily wooded country known as the Big Woods. Much of that forest was later cleared as settlement and development spread across the area.
The surviving Wayzata property faced a different future in the early 2000s. The land was part of the former Sisters of the Cenacle property, and preservation efforts followed plans to sell the larger site. Fourteen acres were ultimately protected in 2004 through an effort involving Wayzata residents, private donors and The Retreat, which occupies the Tudor-style former Cenacle building surrounded by the preserve.
Today, the Big Woods is a Wayzata city park with a rustic walking trail tucked between Wayzata Boulevard, Colonial Square and the development surrounding Interstate 394.
The Old-Growth Forest Network is working to identify and recognize protected forests throughout the country, with a goal of having at least one in every forested county in the United States. The organization now includes more than 350 forests nationwide.
Parking at the Big Woods trailhead is limited. Additional parking for the Sept. 24 ceremony will be available at Colonial Square on Wayzata Boulevard.
You must be logged in to post a comment.