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HUG16015-Parks, Trails, and Open Space DRAFT Chapter 12 08/16/17 Natural Resources Hugo is located in an ecologically diverse area of Minnesota known as the St. Croix River Valley-Anoka Sand Plain. The natural lakes, wetlands, and hills in the area were formed by the glaciers that came through the region during a period roughly 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. As the glacier advanced and receded several times, it deposited sediments of sand, gravel, and rock that eventually produced the rolling hills that are found in eastern Hugo. Most of the natural wetlands and lakes in the area were formed by large blocks of ice that broke from the glacier. These ice blocks were buried by sediment pushed down in subsequent advances of the glacier. As the buried ice blocks slowly melted, the sediment on top of the ice collapsed leaving depressions that filled with water and eventually formed lakes and wetlands. Some soils in Hugo, like the soils in the low lying, nearly level area around Hardwood Creek, Oneka Lake, Egg Lake and Rice Lake, were formed from the outwash of the melting glacier. The soils in the hilly areas of Hugo were formed from the glacial till itself. Over hundreds of years, several different types of plant communities began to develop based in part on these landforms and soils. In the early 1800s, the vegetation in this area consisted primarily of oak barrens, conifer bogs, and a variety of wetlands. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources defines natural communities as “groups of native plants and native animals that interact with each other and with the surrounding nonliving environment, generally in ways not greatly altered by humans or introduced plants or animals”. Many of the natural communities that once existed in Hugo have been eliminated. However, Hugo still has several significant areas that contain natural communities. Unless measures are taken to protect these areas, many of them may be completely lost or severely degraded. Housing developments, road construction, alteration of drainage systems, chemical runoff, sedimentation, and succession due to the lack of fire, threaten the area's remaining natural communities. Wooded upland communities are particularly threatened because they are more easily developed than wet areas. Following is a brief description of the types of natural communities that exist in Hugo.