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There’s a hidden treasure thousands of years old tucked into the hills of Theodore Wirth Regional Park. Most residents of the Twin Cities are unaware of its existence, and even those that know may not appreciate how unique it is.

For most people the word bog conjures up images of murky, stagnant water, where witches or monsters may lurk. But while the Quaking Bog does have carnivorous plants and water stained as dark as tea by peat tannins, it possesses a subtle beauty that rewards close attention.

In spring, starflowers nod shyly, tucked against the scaled trunks of tamaracks. Wild calla rises above the water. As the weather warms, lady’s slippers, sundews and pitcher plants become visible. In the fall, the Tamaracks’ needles turn dark gold before they fall and the bog is blanketed by snow. Much of the vegetation floats serenely atop a layer of thick sphagnum moss. It’s an entire world within five acres. 

What makes such a distinct ecosystem possible? True bogs, like the Quaking Bog, are isolated from the surrounding hydrology. Like much of the state’s topography, they’re a remnant from the time of the glaciers. Around 10,000 years ago in what is now the southern part of Minnesota, chunks of ice broke off from retreating glaciers, leaving behind depressions as they slowly melted. What might have once been a lake fills in slowly over thousands of years with moss and organic matter.

Bogs are distinct from other kinds of wetlands due to their lack of nutrients. Isolated from other parts of the watershed, their only nutrient inputs are from rainwater and what the wind carries in. 

“Wet, low nutrients and high acidity leads to a very unique ecosystem,” said Alan Toczydlowski, a researcher at the University of Minnesota who focuses on wetlands. “That’s where we get the adaptation of plants like the carnivorous plants and sphagnum moss.” 

In addition to the native plants that grow there, bogs make excellent habitat for raptors like Great Gray Owls and Barred Owls, songbirds, species of amphibians, insects, and other animals. With their moisture and coniferous trees, bogs can act as a microclimate, creating a refuge for wildlife cooler than the surrounding area.

 

The sphagnum moss is a keystone species in bogs like the Quaking Bog, and it thrives in a cold, wet, acidic environment. The moss holds onto water and blocks its flow, creating a spongy carpet that gives the bog its characteristic “quake.” Sphagnum moss’s slow rate of decomposition, along with other characteristics of the bog, leads to the formation of organic peat soil, a super dense form of carbon storage. Currently, bogs around the world are an important carbon sink, absorbing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than forests. But if they dry out, they could release huge amounts of greenhouse gasses.

Historically, many of the wetlands, including bogs, in the southern part of Minnesota were drained and filled in for agriculture or other development.   In this, the Quaking Bog is also unique, a surviving example of an ecosystem mostly vanished from the landscape.

While the Quaking Bog is protected from development, ecosystems like it – and all our ecosystems – are threatened by a warming and changing climate. Nutrient overload from runoff can also disturb the balance that has been calibrated over thousands of years, allowing more competitive, often invasive plants like buckthorn to overtake the delicate sundews and orchids which rely on acidity. 

“Landscape diversity is so important - the more types of ecosystems we have, the more resilient the landscape will be to change,” Toczydlowski said.

Luckily, the bog has its defenders. Volunteers and park staff have worked for decades to limit invasive species in and around the bog, battling buckthorn and encouraging visitors to stay on paths to avoid damaging the sensitive habitat.

Though it is only one small bog and may not be consequential to the state as a whole, the Quaking Bog has high value as an educational tool. It’s an opportunity for people to see what these often inaccessible ecosystems look like, and to experience the unique beauty of the plants that call bogs home.

“Being in them is so different from everything else we’re used to,” Toczydlowski said. “To me it brings peace.” ❖ 

The Quaking Bog tamaracks in autumn. Photo Genna Souffle

Genna Souffle has been passionate about photographing and learning about the outdoors since her childhood in southern Illinois. She has been a docent volunteer at the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden since 2019, where she enjoys helping visitors connect with the world around them.

 

This article was originally published in The Fringed Gentian™, Vol. 72 No.2, Summer 2024.

 

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(2) The Quaking Bog

by Bruce Jarvis

Across Theodore Wirth Parkway, a short walk from Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, is the Quaking Bog. This is one of the few remaining bogs in the Twin Cities.

According to the National Geographic Society, “A bog is a freshwater wetland of soft, spongy ground consisting mainly of partially decayed plant matter called peat. Bogs are generally found in cool, northern climates. They often develop in poorly draining lake basins created by glaciers during the most recent ice age. … Quaking bogs develop over a lake or pond, …” and are covered with vegetation, including spongy Sphagnum moss. [1]

As Eloise Butler noted in 1914: “Sphagnum [Sphagnum angustifolium], or bog moss, may be recognized by its pale green color and the compact bunches of minute leaves terminating the stems. Its paleness is due to large water cells which make this plant of great value to florists for packing plants for distant transportation. We are also indebted to sphagnum for peat, which in the course of ages has been formed from it by reason of antiseptic properties that render it immune from decay.” [2]

At its deepest point in the Quaking Bog, the peat layer of partially decayed sphagnum is 21 feet thick, as determined by a core sample taken in 1995. Pollen from the bottom of that sample indicates that the Bog formed in an oak savanna 3,700 years ago. This date was established by radioisotope analysis of the organic matter at the core bottom. The water was very acidic, with a pH of 3.8, typical of bogs. [3]

Not only is the water in bogs very acidic but it also lacks nutrients, particularly nitrogen. Carnivorous plants are well adapted to bogs, because these plants obtain nitrogen from the insects that they entrap and dissolve. Both pitcher plants and sundews grow in the Quaking Bog and can be seen there from June onward. Unique flowering plants blooming in the Bog in May include Bog Bean, Starflower, Labrador Tea and Northern Bog Violet. 

Our local Quaking Bog includes many Tamarack trees, a type of conifer that drops its needles every autumn after turning a stunning golden color. [see photo in next article] “In the United States, Minnesota is the western most outpost of this species, growing around the Great Lakes and up to New England. It is primarily a tree of the Canadian boreal forests. Within Minnesota it is found in various counties in the northern 2/3rds of the state, which includes the metro area.” [4]

Below: Roundleaf Sundew, Drosera rotundifolia, in the Quaking Bog. Photo - Robert Ambler.

The boardwalk in the Quaking Bog forms a loop through the Tamarack trees. In the spring and after rains, the boardwalk is often partly submerged. Wear boots if you visit the Bog then. Since 2023, MPRB crews have been extensively cutting Glossy Buckthorn, such that the Bog understory is now much more open. A small group of volunteers is continuing to strip buckthorn leaves in order to eventually kill the roots. If you are interested in helping or want periodic updates on other Bog activities, send an email to this email address. 

As of this writing, the MPRB has set aside funds to replace the current boardwalk dating from the 1990s. Work may begin as early as this autumn and continue into 2025.  The Quaking Bog has a different look in each season and merits a visit several times each year. ❖

End Notes
1. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/bog/

2. https://friendsofeloisebutler.org/pages/history/ebwriting/annals_liverworts1914.html

3. The Quaking Bog, D. Beimborn et al., People for the Minneapolis Parks Fund, 1995.

4. https://friendsofeloisebutler.org/pages/plants/larch.html

Bruce Jarvis is a Friends member and a founding member of the Quaking Bog Advocacy Comittee.

 

This article was originally published in The Fringed Gentian™, Vol. 72 No.2, Summer 2024.

 

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(3) Boardwalk replacement has begun at the Quaking Bog

by Lauren Husting

In late fall 2025, work was nearing completion on the new boardwalk for the Quaking Bog. MPRB approved budget funding for the project in 2024 and initiated a design process to find the best fit for this important and sensitive site.

In late August, the failing plastic dock system and bridge at the entrance were removed. Installation of the new floating wooden walkway, which will primarily follow that of the old path around Mariana's Island, began in late September. The floats and suspensions in the design will allow for light and air to pass under and around the boardwalk and foster a healthier ecosystem. A second entrance to the Bog will be created slightly up the hill to the south from the original bridge entrance, and there will be wider sections with seating and room for groups to congregate.

In November, a larger exterior loop will be added. The addition of low rails on the sides of the boardwalk aim to keep visitors from stepping off path onto the delicate sphagnum moss. Members of the Quaking Bog Advocacy Committee also contributed to new educational signage that will be posted at both entrances as a part of Theodore Wirth's new wayfinding project.

While construction efforts are underway, visitors are asked to stay out of the Bog to help protect the wetland and keep the area clear for crews to do their work.

Community efforts to preserve this ecological wonder continue with advocacy for maintenance and restoration including glossy buckthorn removal, new plantings, educational resources, continued MPRB funding, and celebrations of this unique ecosystem in our own backyards. One new potential project would be to reestablish ground cover on the hillside above the Bog, utilizing native sedges and smaller plants to help diminish the amount of soil runoff that enters the bog and contributes to its decomposition.

If you would like to get involved or know more, please reach out to quakingbogadvocacy@gmail.com.

Look for an invite to a celebration in spring 2026 to open the Quaking Bog's new boardwalk!❖

Photos:
Old boardwalk at top - Genna Souffle
New boardwalk - Colin Bartol

This article was originally published in The Fringed Gentian™, Vol. 73 No.3, Fall 2025.

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(4) What is the Quaking Bog Advocacy Committee (QBAC)

by Lauren Husting

To visit the Quaking Bog in Theodore Wirth Park is to step back in time. Estimated at over 3,500 years old, it’s also the southernmost peatland in Minnesota and a piece of ecology with numerous benefits to the environment around us.

Over the course of its modern history, many people in the area have banded together to help stabilize, rejuvenate, and build community around it. The Quaking Bog Advocacy Committee is only the latest of these efforts, and we invite you to join us.

QBAC is a small group of local individuals hoping to create more vocal advocacy for the Bog and its future. Formed in 2022, in our short history we’ve already started to make strides to help preserve the ecology of the Bog and to build community and educational resources among its visitors. Some of our projects include: 

Buckthorn mitigation: In 2023 QBAC applied for a Park Stewardship Agreement with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) to remove buckthorn in conjunction with existing Park Board efforts. Founding committee member Bruce Jarvis has been leading this effort, training in new volunteers to help with trimming young buckthorn shoots and maintaining the boardwalk perimeter and the center of the Bog. The MPRB is taking care of larger stands of buckthorn around the Bog. Our agreement was renewed in 2024 and we will resume removal efforts as soon as the ground dries out a bit more. 

Boardwalk reconstruction: One of the big highlights of 2023 was seeing funding added to MPRB’s 2024 budget that included boardwalk replacement at the Quaking Bog. Many voices spoke to the MPRB in support of this project for the Bog, and we want to thank all who called offices, wrote letters, and spoke at Park Board meetings to help this funding go through. We are still waiting on more details about when the project can get started, but QBAC is standing by to help with any additional fundraising as needed.

Community building and educational initiatives: QBAC hopes to build a strong sense of community connection to the Bog through outreach and education. We plan to table at local community events to direct people to resources about bogs and help them learn more about how to advocate for this special piece of local ecology. In the future we hope to advocate for better signage at the Bog and more exploration and education within its perimeters. A long-term goal for the area could include a full-time curator or naturalist dedicated to its care. 

We’re planning a special event on July 28 to celebrate our Bog on International Bog Day! Join us at the foot of Wedding Hill (across Theodore Wirth Parkway from the Quaking Bog parking lot) from 11 to 4 for Bog tours, story time and coloring activities, educational speakers, and bog-inspired puppets. 

The Quaking Bog Advocacy Committee will continue to maintain a relationship with the MPRB and the local community to build a future for the Quaking Bog. While we understand that all ecologies change over time, we hope we can shepherd the area into the future as gently as possible, and maintain it for generations to come. 

If you’d like to get involved with the QBAC, send an email to quakingbogadvocacy@gmail.com. Thank you for loving your local Bog! ❖

Lauren Husting is a Friends member and frequent contributor to The Fringed Gentian™

The Quaking Bog in autumn colors - photo Bruce Jarvis

 

This article was originally published in The Fringed Gentian™, Vol. 72 No.2, Summer 2024.