Lovers of the outdoors should make plans to get up to the North Shore shortly as one of the newest Scientific Natural protected areas features a very 'unique habitat' that is only found in one other place along Lake Superior. The feature is called a fen, so saddle up and check out this beauty along the big lake.

Minnesota DNR’s newest Scientific and Natural Area protects an incredibly unique habitat along Lake Superior! The Icelandite Coastal Fen SNA, located 11 miles up the Superior shore from Grand Marais, is home to one of two known fens along the lake. A fen is a type of wetland fed by groundwater. This rare feature makes this an important natural area to protect!

The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota posted about the new area earlier this week, and it got my attention with what it is protecting, a habitat called a fen.

What is a fen?

According to the US Forest Service, "Fens are peat-forming wetlands that rely on groundwater input and require thousands of years to develop and cannot easily be restored once destroyed. Fens are also hotspots of biodiversity. They often are home to rare plants, insects, and small mammals. Larger animals like deer and livestock graze in this type of wetland."

How do I get to this new scientific natural area?

The new area is 11 miles Northeast of Grand Marais on Lake Superior, the Minnesota DNR has directions on finding the area and a list of other scientific areas on its website.