Rare Natural Communities
Go to Section:- Overview
- Data Quality
- Data Organization
- Coordinate System
- Attributes
- Distribution - Get Data
- Metadata Reference
Section 1: Overview
Originator:Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
Title:
Rare Natural Communities
Abstract:
Rare natural communities are one of several “Special Considerations” listed in the Wetland Conservation Act rules for consideration under wetland replacement application.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) have developed guidance with general factors for the DNR to consider in identifying and designating rare natural communities (RNC) under Minnesota’s Wetlands Conservation Act (WCA). Additionally, this guidance is for local units of government (LGUs) to consider when they are determining if a proposed project area includes a rare natural community. This guidance applies solely to the application of the rare natural community rule provision of WCA (see below).
BWSR, in consultation with DNR, has adopted rules governing the approval of wetland value replacement plans under WCA. (See Minn. Stat. § 103G.2242 and Minn. R. 8420.0500 - 0544 et. seq.) The WCA rule governing the evaluation of wetland replacement plan applications provides that:
“A replacement plan for activities that involve the modification of a rare natural community as determined by the Department of Natural Resource’s natural heritage program must be denied if the local government unit determines that the proposed activities will permanently adversely affect the natural community.” Minn. R. 8420.0515, subp. 3.
WCA statutes further provide that:
“When making a determination under rules adopted pursuant to this subdivision on whether a rare natural community will be permanently adversely affected, consideration of measures to mitigate any adverse effect on the community must be considered.” Minn. Stat § 103G.2242, subd. 1(d)
Purpose:
This data is intended to be used for review of projects, both internal and external to DNR, to engage in early notification of existing or likely rare natural communities that have “Special Considerations” listed in the Wetland Conservation Act rules for wetland replacement applications. This data is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all potential or likely rare natural communities. This data is not intended to replace DNR coordination around rare natural communities.
Time Period of Content Date:
06/02/2026
Currentness Reference:
Time Period of Content Date indicates when dataset was last updated.
Progress:
Complete
Maintenance and Update Frequency:
Annually
Spatial Extent of Data:
statewide
Bounding Coordinates:
-97.23
-89.53
49.37
43.5
Place Keywords:
Minnesota
Theme Keywords:
rare, communities, rnc, bwsr, wca, lgu, wetlands, conservation, natural heritage
Theme Keyword Thesaurus:
Access Constraints:
Use Constraints:
Contact Person Information:
Jennie Skancke,
NR Program Consultant
Minnesota DNR - Ecological and Water Resources
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul,
MN
55155
Phone: 651-259-5721
Email: jennie.skancke@state.mn.us
Associated Data Sets:
Section 2: Data Quality
Attribute Accuracy:
Some attribute fields (i.e. the npc field and all fields after it which are marked in this metadata below as field definition source 'dnr_native_plant_communities') were captured from the DNR’s native plant community dataset on March 2024 and are represented as static information in this dataset.
Logical Consistency:
Completeness:
This data is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all potential or likely rare natural communities.
Horizontal Positional Accuracy:
Vertical Positional Accuracy:
Lineage:
Section 3: Spatial Data Organization (not used in this metadata)
Section 4: Coordinate System
Horizontal Coordinate Scheme:
Universal Transverse Mercator
UTM Zone Number:
15
Horizontal Datum:
NAD83
Horizontal Units:
meters
Vertical Datum:
Vertical Units:
Depth Datum:
Depth Units:
Section 5: Attributes
Overview:
For fields with the definition source 'dnr_native_plant_communities', see the included metadata file npc_metadata.html.
Detailed Citation:
Table Detail:
rare natural communities| Field Name | Valid Values | Definition | Definition Source |
|---|
| rnc_name | - | The name of the rare natural community (RNC). If the community occurs on or adjacent to a named, permanent public land unit such as a state park, wildlife management area, USFWS Waterfowl production area, or a named lake, it will be given the name of that land unit. If the community occurs on private land, the name will be the Township name and Section number where the majority of the community occurs. For example: 'Ortonville 22'. | |
| project_name | - | The name of the project near or with the potential to impact the rare natural community. | |
| nhis_landscape_context | - | A brief description of the landscape context of the rare natural community. The context of the native plant community on the landscape is a relevant factor in determining whether a community at a particular location qualifies as a rare natural community. Landscape factors that may be considered include, but are not limited to: 1) The location of the affected native plant community relative to surrounding land uses and other native plant communities that may influence the continued viability of the affected community. 2) The presence and abundance of other occurrences of the same native plant community type within or near the project site. 3) The rarity of the native plant community at local, regional, and statewide scales. A high-quality native plant community located at the edge of its naturally occurring range in the state may qualify as a rare natural community even if it is common in other parts of the state. 4) • The currency and completeness of data about the affected native plant community, including known and potential occurrences in areas that have not yet been surveyed. | |
| rnc_nomination_by | - | The name of the person who nominated the site. | |
| status | enumerated | | |
| designated | Designated refers to rare natural communities that have either used the DNR’s formal designation process adopted in 2011 or have been designated by the DNR prior to 2011. | |
| candidate | Candidate sites are sites that have been evaluated by an ecologist or other qualified staff and are known to meet the rare natural community criteria but have not yet been designated. Candidate sites do not include sites that may or have the potential to be a rare natural community but have not yet been evaluated. | |
| nominated | Nominated sites are sites that have been partially evaluated, by an ecologist or other qualified staff and are known to meet some of the rare natural community criteria but have not yet been fully evaluated. | |
| rnc_year_designated | - | The year of designation. The year of designation is when all signatures have been received on the DNR’s internal routing slip decision document. | |
| rnc_edited_by | - | The person who edited the rare natural community data. | |
| npc | - | see NPC_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| npc_code | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| condition_rank | - | The DNR has developed condition rankings for native plant communities. These rankings are intended to reflect the degree of ecological integrity of a specific occurrence of a native plant community. The condition rank considers the species composition, vegetation structure, ecological processes and functions, level of human disturbance, and presence of non-native species, among other factors. Individual community occurrences are then assigned one of the following rankings: A - Excellent Ecological Integrity. Species composition, structure, and ecological processes are typical of the natural or historic range of the community and have been little disturbed by recent human activity or invasive species. B - Good Ecological Integrity. Lightly disturbed plant communities and communities that were disturbed in the past but have recovered and now have relatively natural composition and structure. B‐rank occurrences normally will return to A‐rank condition with protection or appropriate management. C - Fair Ecological Integrity. Show strong evidence of human disturbance, but retain some characteristic species and have some potential for recovery with protection and management. D - Poor Ecological Integrity. The original composition and structure of the community has been severely altered by human disturbances or invasion by exotic species. They have little chance of recovery to their natural or historic condition. Additionally, community-specific condition ranking guidelines have recently been developed by the DNR for some native plant community types and more are in preparation. DNR EWR staff should consult any applicable community-specific condition ranking guidelines that may be available. Otherwise, the general ranking guidelines above should be applied. | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| s_rank_code | - | Conservation status ranks of native plant communities. Native plant communities in Minnesota are classified according to the Minnesota Native Plant Community Classification System developed by the DNR.5 Each type of native plant community in Minnesota has been assigned a conservation status rank that reflects the “risk of elimination of that community type from Minnesota.” See Conservation Status Ranks for Native Plant Community Types and Subtypes (August 31, 2009), available at http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/natural_resources/npc/s_ranks_npc_types_&_subtypes.pdf. All native plant community types in Minnesota are given one of the five following classifications: S1 - Critically imperiled, S2 - Imperiled, S3 - Vulnerable to extirpation, S4 - Apparently secure, uncommon but not rare, S5 - Secure, common, widespread and abundant. The Conservation Status Ranks for Native Plant Community Types and Subtypes (August 31, 2009) should be used by DNR EWR staff when undertaking a project site assessment of a plant community. For purposes of making rare natural community determinations, DNR EWR staff should give greatest consideration to affected communities having a conservation status ranking of S1, S2 or S3. | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| s_rank_cat | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| s_rank_highest_risk | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| g_rank_detailed | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| g_rank_cat | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| g_rank_highest_risk_rounded | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| biodiversity_signif_rank | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| observer_1 | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| observer_2 | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| observer_3 | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| observer_1_affiliation_type | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| observer_2_affiliation_type | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| observer_3_affiliation_type | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| observer_1_affiliation_detail | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| observer_2_affiliation_detail | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| observer_3_affiliation_detail | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| observation_year | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| submitted_by | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| admin_dnr_unit | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| collection_method | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| photo_year | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| photo_type | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| comment | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
| gis_acres | - | see npc_metadata.html | dnr_native_plant_communities |
potential rare natural communities - These are sites that meet some of the state’s criteria (see https://bwsr.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/2019-01/Wetland_WCA_Rare_Nat_Comm_Tech_Guidance.pdf) for rare natural communities as determined through a spatial analysis. These sites have not been fully evaluated by an ecologist or other qualified staff but should be given consideration as the potential to meet rare natural community definitions.| Field Name | Valid Values | Definition | Definition Source |
|---|
| all fields | - | | npc_native_plant_communities |
Section 6: Distribution
Publisher:
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
Publication Date:
05/06/2024
Contact Person Information:
Jennie Skancke,
NR Program Consultant
Minnesota DNR - Ecological and Water Resources
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul,
MN
55155
Phone: 651-259-5721
Email: jennie.skancke@state.mn.us
Distributor's Data Set Identifier:
env_rare_natural_communities_pub
Ordering Instructions:
Please visit the download page for this dataset on the Minnesota Geospatial Commons website using the web link below (Online Linkage). Online Linkage: I AGREE
to the notice in "Distribution Liability" above. Clicking to agree will either begin the download process, link to a service, or provide more instructions. See "Ordering Instructions" above for details.
Section 7: Metadata Reference
Metadata Date:
05/06/2024
Contact Person Information:
Jennie Skancke,
NR Program Consultant
Minnesota DNR - Ecological and Water Resources
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul,
MN
55155
Phone: 651-259-5721
Email: jennie.skancke@state.mn.us
Metadata Standard Name:
Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines
Metadata Standard Version:
1.2
