A piece of land once challenged by flooding and difficult farming conditions has been given a new purpose, one that Hastings Public Schools officials hope will benefit students, wildlife and the broader community for generations. The district recently celebrated the Hastings Public Schools Nature Preserve, a 56-acre property located along 180th Street, just north of Vermillion, between Goodwin Avenue and
Fischer Avenue. A donor appreciation event was held July 9 to recognize the people and organizations that helped protect the land and complete a new interpretive sign explaining the
property’s history and natural features. The preserve includes prairie, wetlands, open water and gently rolling land. It is often known locally as the Marshall Ponds, a reference to the
family that once farmed the property. Joe Beattie, a former teacher and local environmental expert, said the preserve includes four types of land cover under the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources classification system. Those areas are palustrine open water, seasonally flooded cattail marsh, mesic prairie and wet prairie with saturated soils.
Although the Vermillion River is located close to the preserve’s southern boundary, it does not run through the property. The ponds and wet areas, however, are connected to the same
landscape that has long been shaped by the nearby river and its floodplain. 

The property contains hills and open plains, but very little that would be considered forest. Small trees have moved into portions of the prairie, creating one of the management challenges that will need to be addressed as restoration work
continues. The preserve’s history can be traced through
several families, conservation programs and community partnerships. Brothers Nick and Pete Marshall once owned the property before selling it to Wally Stoffel. The land was later transferred to his sons, Greg and Dan Stoffel, in 2011. Both the Marshall and Stoffel families farmed the property for years, but recurring floodwaters from the nearby
Vermillion River made traditional row crop farming difficult.
In 2015, Greg Stoffel applied for the federal Conservation Reserve Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency. Under the program, the land was
removed from agricultural production in exchange for annual payments. Taking the property out of row crop production
provided several environmental benefits, including protecting the soil, creating pollinator habitat and storing carbon.
The following year, Greg Stoffel sold a permanent natural area conservation easement to Dakota County. The easement was funded in part by the county and a state Outdoor Heritage
Fund grant, ensuring the property could not later be converted back into development or intensive agricultural use.
In 2019, Hastings Public Schools received the land as a gift after it was purchased using money from the estate of Tecla R. Karpen. Karpen, who was born in 1927, was the only child of Matt and Kate Karpen. She grew up in Hastings on the bluffs overlooking Lake Rebecca and the Mississippi River, surroundings that helped create her lifelonginterest in the environment.After high school, she earned a degree in speech and theater and eventually became a professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She later returned to her childhood home in Hastings,where she painted, wrote poetry and hosted gatherings that often included discussions about politics and environmental issues. Those conversations eventually helped lead Karpen to establish Hastings Environmental Protectors, a local conservation organization.She also placed the land surrounding her ownhome under a Dakota County natural area conservation easement.Karpen died at her Hastings home at age 90.Money from her estate was later used topurchase the 56-acre property that became the school district’s nature preserve The July 9 donor appreciation event recognized the Karpen estate for the land donation and Dakota County, along with the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, for helping provide permanent protection. The new interpretive sign was supported by Flint Hills Resources, Hastings Environmental Protectors, the Minnesota River Valley
Audubon Chapter, Hoffman & McNamara and Hastings Public Schools. Beattie also identified the Winter Wheat Foundation as one of the groups that contributed funding toward the sign.
The program began with opening remarks from Hastings Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kristine Wehrkamp-Herman. Alex Scurto, a project manager with Dakota County, and Beattie, representing Hastings Environmental Protectors, were also scheduled to speak. The event included time for guest reflections and a group photo, followed by an optional
guided tour of the preserve led by Beattie.

The program described the preserve and interpretive sign as the result of cooperation among individuals, families, conservation organizations, local government and the school
district. Donors, district staff, Dakota County employees and members of the Marshall and Stoffel families were among those connected to the project.While the preserve provides permanent protection for wildlife habitat, its future role as an outdoor classroom may be its most visible benefit to the community. Jen Seubert, director of finance for Hastings Public Schools, said the property can provide hands-on educational experiences for students at
every grade level. Elementary students will be able to observe
birds, plants, insects, wildlife and seasonal changes in a natural setting. Those visits can help younger students develop an early understanding of conservation while allowing
them to experience lessons that can be difficult to duplicate inside a classroom. For middle school students, the preserve can support studies of ecosystems, weather, wildlife interaction and plant identification. The district also sees opportunities to teach outdoor safety and responsible stewardship of natural resources.
High school classes could use the preserve for more advanced work, including field biology, wildlife biology, environmental science, water quality testing and pollinator studies. The
landscape may also provide opportunities for
students studying art. The property was intentionally left without formal trails, allowing visitors to experience the prairie and wetland habitat in a more natural condition. The interpretive sign encourages visitors to notice native grasses, wildflowers, butterflies and birds while exploring the area.

Indian grass and big bluestem are among the tall grasses found on the property. Wildflowers include showy goldenrod and golden Alexander, while butterflies such as the great spangled fritillary and tiger swallowtail may also be seen.
The preserve has become an attractive location for bird enthusiasts because it contains the three basic resources birds need, food, water and shelter.
The transition from prairie to wetland provides seeds, insects and small animals as food sources. Birds can find water in the ponds, wetland shallows and morning dew, while tall
grasses, wetland plants and woody shrubs provide nesting and protective cover. Common species include the red-winged
blackbird, while less frequent visitors may include the Henslow’s sparrow and grasshopper sparrow.

Keeping the land healthy will require continued work. The school district is responsible for maintenance of the preserve, while the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District
has prepared a management plan and is working
to update it.

Prairie management can include periodic mowing, controlled burns and targeted herbicide treatment for invasive plants. Small trees that have spread into the prairie will also need to be managed as part of the restoration effort. The district continues to receive Conservation Reserve Program payments connected to the property. Seubert said those funds will be
reinvested in the preserve, helping pay for maintenance and transportation costs for students.
That arrangement allows the preserve to help support itself while giving students access to a living classroom only a short distance from Hastings.

The project is not simply the result of one donation or one government program. It represents decades of family ownership, farming, conservation planning, public funding
and private generosity. The new sign brings those pieces together, helping visitors understand how the land moved
from flood-prone farmland to a permanently protected nature preserve. For Hastings students, it provides a place to study science, art and conservation. For birds, pollinators and other wildlife, it provides food, water and shelter. For the community, it offers an opportunity to experience a prairie landscape that will continue to change with every season.