Read Details about this project below, and click HERE to volunteer.

Father Hennepin Bluff Park Care Dates - 2024

Caring for Our Riverfront Nature Sanctuary, East Owamniyomni:

By the east bank of the Mississippi River, where waters once tumbled over the limestone face to create the river’s only natural falls, volunteers are restoring native trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grasses to the shores, slopes, meadows and wetlands of the lower trail area of Father Hennepin Bluff Park.  From Williams Island – visible from the Stone Arch Bridge – to Mill View Meadow – visible from Main Street SE – to Hennepin Beach – downstream from the Xcel spillway - this diverse natural area hums with life.  Eagles and herons hunt in its waters, and songbirds nest in its forest. In Dakota, St. Anthony Falls are called Owamniyomni, “turbulent water, whirlpool, eddy,” and volunteers call this part of the park East Owamniyomni, honoring the power of the falls.

The Father Hennepin Bluff Stewards, a project of the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association, partners with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to care for this nature sanctuary, and hosts care days from April to November.  All are welcome!  Please sign up here!

Planning to Steward Habitat at East Owamniyomni/Father Hennepin Bluff Lower Trail, and Your Comments and Ideas:

In 2023-24, with funding from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, the Father Hennepin Bluff Stewards and MHNA are completing a 10-year, volunteer-centric natural resource management plan, with assistance from Friends of the Mississippi River and Full Circle Indigenous Planning and Design.  The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Natural Resources team supports this planning project; for years they have been advising the Father Hennepin Bluff Stewards on restoration practices and providing native shrubs, grasses, and flowering plants.  A science-based stewardship plan is now needed to guide strategic removal of remaining invasive plants throughout Father Hennepin Bluffs Park/East Owamniyomi, prevent regrowth, and increase diversity and resiliency through cultivating native species including grasses, wildflowers, flowering shrubs, and climate-adapted trees. This plan will bolster recreation and safety, habitat for wildlife and pollinators, erosion control, water quality, carbon storage, and climate resilience.  MPRB planning staff recognize that habitat restoration with native plant communities helps implement the regional plan for this park and helps address safety concerns.  This project helps set the stage MPRB’s “Hennepin Island” project, which is in MPRB’s Capital Improvement Program for 2023-2025.

Because this site retains more of the wild character of the pre-colonial falls, the opportunity to integrate Indigenous restoration practices and native plant species at this site is particularly promising.  This site was once alive with falls, springs and caves, before being completely industrialized.  We can integrate here how restoration can honor the history of this site, and practices both to follow and to avoid on historically highly disturbed sites.  Now this site offers great promise as an urban nature sanctuary, easily accessible at the heart of the city and inspiring as a model for restoring nature with practices that honor Indigenous values.

Ultimately, the goal of this project is three-fold. The most immediate goal is to provide a guide for restoring the habitat and overall ecological health of this riverfront park - improving the site for wildlife (especially pollinators), improving water quality in the Mississippi River, and improving park aesthetics for the thousands of residents and visitors that use the park year-round. A second goal and integral part of this project is incorporating Indigenous restoration practices and native plant species in the restoration planning and community engagement and volunteer event processes.  The long-term goal is to maintain this restored park by educating, energizing and engaging the community in all aspects of the work, which will build a dedicated, local group of residents and park users with a strong ethic of river stewardship.  This community engagement will help set the stage for implementing the MPRB’s regional park plan, including its capital improvement project for Hennepin Island, and contribute to relationship-building with Indigenous communities.

Your Feedback and Ideas!

We welcome your feedback on the Volunteer-Centric Natural Resources Management Plan for Father Hennepin Bluffs Park. Please reference the Online Community Feedback presentation, then go to the feedback page. The comment period ends on May 18.

Please note that for this planning effort, all references to the park refer to the lower trail natural area of Father Hennepin Bluffs Park.  Thank you for your participation!