Cora Alta Ray Corniea (1889–1958) was an American conservationist best known for her role in preserving the Cedar Bog at what is now known as the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Corniea was referred to as "The Bird Woman of Cedar Bog."

Personal life

Born on October 10, 1889, in Albany, Missouri as Cora Alta Ray, Corniea cited her maternal grandparents, Samuel and Nancy Mize, and her paternal grandparents, Andrew and Rebecca Ray, for instilling her love of nature. Corneia lived in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

from 1900 to 1905, and moved to

in 1913. She married Dr. Albert Corniea on February 3, 1917, and they lived in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

for 35 years. Corniea died in Minneapolis on July 20, 1958.

Work and legacy

Corniea was a charter member of the Minnesota's Natural History Society. When recruiting new members, Corniea was well known for her "persistence" decades before Sen. Mitch McConnell's calling out of Sen. Elizabeth Warren's persistence became a feminist meme. While Corniea's involvement in the Natural History Society lasted for decades, it was her foundational role in preserving the Cedar bog: "If only one person could be held responsible for beginning the crusade to save the Cedar Bog, that individual would be Cora Corniea". During the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, Corniea actively acquired, or pursued donations, of land from local farmers. Meanwhile, she advocated for the creation of public ownership and stewardship of the preserve for this critical environmental habitat in Minnesota, encompassing oak savannah,

deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flo ...

and

coniferous forest Conifers () are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All e ...

. In 1940, the Cedar Creek Reserve was established. It was declared a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

in 1975. It has become a key location for long term ecological studies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corniea, Cora Alta Ray 1889 births 1958 deaths American conservationists People from Albany, Missouri Conservationists People from Minneapolis