Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve
| Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve | |
| National Natural Landmark | |
 View of Cedar Bog Lake with experimental plots in the rear
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Minnesota |
| Counties | Anoka, Isanti |
| City | East Bethel |
| Coordinates | 45°24′31″N 93°12′03″W / 45.40861°N 93.20083°WCoordinates: 45°24′31″N 93°12′03″W / 45.40861°N 93.20083°W |
| Area | 5,400 acres (2,185.3 ha) |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Management | College of Biological Sciences |
| IUCN category | IV - Habitat/Species government Area |
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| Website: http://www.cedarcreek.umn.edu/ | |
| Designated | June 1975 |
The Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve is an ecological research site located primarily in East Bethel, Minnesota in the counties of Anoka and Isanti on the northern edge of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. Encompassing 5,400 acres (22 km2) of native upland forests and prairie and lowland swamps and meadows, the site contains over 900 plots of long-term experimental gardens which evaluate plant competition and biodiversity. The herbivory research division examines animal and plant relationships. Led by prominent American ecologist G. David Tilman, the University schedules more than 130 faculty, post-doctoral researchers, graduate students, staff, and undergraduate researcher interns to the site as of 2006.
Established in 1940 by the University of Minnesota, the site was designated a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1975 and 1980 under the Historic Sites Act. It received this designation in May 1975 from the United States Secretary of the Interior, giving it recognition as an outstanding example of the nation's natural history. The designation describes it as a
Relatively undisturbed area where three biomes meet (tall grass prairie, eastern deciduous forest and boreal coniferous forest), supporting 61 species of mammals and 183 species of birds. A nationally and internationally famous research center.
It was later designated by the National Science Foundation as a Long Term Ecological Research site in 1982. Minnesota ecologists purchased land parcels through 1929 until the University's acquisition in 1940. The site is currently operated by the University's College of Biological Sciences in cooperation with the Minnesota Academy of Science.
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