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Draft North & East Metro Groundwater Management Area Plan 2-11 Rare Natural Features in the North &East Metro Groundwater Management Area Three groups of native plant communities in the North & East Metro GWMA are closely associated with groundwater: wetland complexes in the Anoka Sand Plain, seepage plant communities, and wetland plant communities associated with lakes and streams. Some of these communities contain rare plants and rare animals. The DNR's Minnesota Biological Survey identified and mapped many of these native plant communities and rare species, but more comprehensive surveys are needed to complete the picture of where these features occur in the North & East Metro GWMA. The Anoka Sand Plain (Figure 2-7, Table 2-1) is a broad sandy lake plain with level to gently rolling topography that includes many types of wetlands. Especially significant are complexes of open, shallow wetland native plant communities.These complexes of Wet Prairie, Graminoid Rich Fen, Low Shrub Poor Fen, and Sedge Meadow(referred to collectively as Wet Prairie Complex in this Plan) contain some of the most significant populations in the state of 17 state-listed rare plant species (Figure 2-8,Table 2-3). Seepage plant communities are associated with St. Croix River bluffs and terraces (Figure 2-7,Table 2-1). These communities are rare in the state and contain a number of rare plant and animal species (Figure 2-8,Table 2-3, and Table 2-4). There are also a number of wetland plant communities associated with lakes and streams that can also be influenced by groundwater(Figure 2-7, Table 2-2).They range from tamarack swamps and hardwood-dominated wet forests to open herbaceous vegetation-dominated communities such as Sedge Meadow and Northern Mixed Cattail Marsh. P39