To the Editor,
I read with interest Lee Epps; article “St. Paul Newspaper Features Brownsville “Coldness,” Twice.”
I heard about this phenomenon years ago. The formation is called an algific tallus slope. It is very rare – found only in the Driftless Region of southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, southwestern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois. Plus, they’ve found a few instances in the Allegheny Mountain region. My fellow gradstudent, Margaret Kuckenreuter, was studying genetic diversity in Northern Monkshood, a federally endangered species found only around these openings. These rare plant communities are another example of the fragility of karst topography features.
Sue Wiegrefe
Mabel, Minn.
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