HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 02-19 Maplewood acquires Fish Creek land MAPLEWOOD REVIEWires a S wn s ree an
Residents sought
•
d
-` �� ax marvel .at the bulk of the land in Virginia Gaynor, Maplewood's
70-acre « Crowe ewel"
- r. . . . . v E, photographs. 'natural resources coordina-
J ,F
for than 20
In the photos, she could see tor, said that the 'parcel fills .in
'
more years
the rugged and beautiful terrain the so-called "donut hole" that,
near the creek. She could see Ramsey County open space sur-
Kaitlyn Roby
something worth fighting for, rounds on three sides..
Review stag
"I was not :able to able to get.. Thenewly-acquired land and
For around 30 years, Caro-
down. there, but the pictures the county's nearly 150 acres
really told the story," she 'said: make up the heart of a greenway
lyn Peterson pushed for the
purchase of an expanse of land_
"When we saw what. was. there, that extends from the Missis-
in south Maplewood recently
it gust seemed -so important that sippi River in St. Paul to Maple-
:. it be saved:" wood to Carver Park in ,Wood-
acquired by the city, even
Peterson was just one of m any, �' bury
though she still hasn't seen most
of it,
dedicated Maplewood residents . A-201'2 master plan' details
She contracted polio at. a..
who were integral .in the city's desired features for the preserve.
Maplewood
young age, leaving her dis-
Courtesy of the city of recent acquisition of most of the They include:- parking lots on
Fish Creek, cuts through a property in -south Maplewood that the. property south of Carver Road. Henry Lane and near Point
j abled, she said. when Peterson
city recently acquired, after pursuing the land for more than 20 Restoration .is underway, the Douglas Road, rustic and paved
was introduced to the .70-acre
Fish Creek parcel decades ago,
p, g
years..beginning of a master plan to trails and benches at vista loca-
FEB'1 9 2014 -
it was too difficult for her to-
spectacular view that reminded more level. revive what was formerly farm- tions.
her of growing up .in Wiscon- "The view from 'up there is Viand. Although city staffers have
trek through parts of the rugged
sin's "bluff country." just spectacular." "Now knowing that the Fish. done a lot of behind-the-scenes
property.
Until then, the Maplewoodwas
"I'was still walking,,. b.ut "it : Now using a. wheelchair, Creek land will always be pre- heavy-lifting in order to protect
is Gaynor
resident didn't know land
with crutches, so. I was lim- Peterson, a Parks and Recre= served just a good feeling,"• the land, said a group of
ited as to where
ere I could walk," pired'the effort.
ation Commission member for Peterson said. citizens ins
within city limits land a waterfall
and a shallow creek where peo=
said Peterson, now in her 80s. 19 years who also worked with "Twenty years ago, it was
"I `heart'
ple could easily. photograph large
was able to walk up on top of open-space committees to obtain The of the
the bluff; because the land was .the site, has only been able. to area greenway
fish. She didn't know of 'th�
see Fish Creek oLi page 3
Fish
high. It..�ere'ates this really inter- that people had a vision, .axed The noinproftt dedicated to pre- fres ;have cropped up, according
o ' ' ��
:Creek � � •
estin to ra h that sho
g p g p y , uld be they didn tl.et it go, serving land . and wildlife, was to Yingling.
continued from page 1
RB 1.9 2014
preserved." holding. the Iand until .the- 'city ` Nearby residents are) out
Slawik noted- that American- Decades of trying could gather enough funds ao there all the time picking u
:, p g P
Indian
artikacts-` are strewn Maplewood has had its eye on, purchase it. trash," Yingling said. "It gets
really residents who saw the
about the.site: the land for decades. In :1994 Glint. Miller the o avi ation s
' , rg ' , pretty torn up 'by people. It's
importance of (preserving the
Adding intangible value to the Maplewood's open Space Com- Upper Midwest- field representa:. going to take a lot of work fig-
,
land)," said. "This .time.
, project, . the commuxiity � indi- .mitt6e helped pass a referendum; Live, said the group stays in, the uring-,out how .we, : are going to
;
:she
:too; it was residents who came.
vxduals, organizations, corpo= leading to, the purchase, of: green background, assisting .conse'rva- get these people to respect those
:knocking at the doors of City
rations and: the city:-- -worked. spaces throughout the city. tion. efforts and offering its .real- lands:'.
Y Hall."
together persistently to make But not Fish .Creek. It was .in .estate expertise in complicated:: A private partner has alread y
•
The city and several partners
somethin happen. �
g pp the --hands. of .a._ private _ owner land purchases, like Fish Creekg.- - started '' fixing some issues',,
,have contributed enough money
When a community can have who would not sell. "Forus this is just what we according to Gaynor:
'
to permanently protect 62 acres.
Up to', $340 000 is needed to
a shared purpose � and 'a shared A development. `;company,; do,'.' he said, although many at a• Great River Greenan .: a non-
Greening
,.-A it becomes .a lot more CoPar . bought, the land in 2006. `recent celebration of the acquisi- profit that`creates partnerships
p .
;save the remaining eight acres
`meaningful, ;she said Its kind -: CoPar . had" submitted plans . tion couldn't say enough about to: conserve Minnesota land and ,
along Carver Avenue. The ci is
of the crown ewel. of Maplewood • to build 191. homes there' but, ' his and the organization'shelp. water, removed buckthorn and
hoping money will be -set aside
to have such a beautiful, pristine Maplewood rejected it sa n with other ro'ect expenses,. lanced trees she said.
, yi g p a , p ,
in the state's bonding bill for the
piece of land within our bound-' the lots were too small.. the effort willcost close to $2.2 District Energy, an energyser-
remaining funding.
ares." • . The development : company. .on. vice . focused on conservation,
Maplewood Mayor Nora
Ginny Yinglingthought' she sued Maplewood, calling the Contributors have included: chipped up a pie of buckthorn
had discovered`She
Slawik helped in . the attempt
state funds'
.Fish Creek. city's ruling unreasonable: The Maplewood :($425,000},•Ramsey in January, and hauled 27 semi=
.
wandered onto, the property two entities settled out of court County. $425;000), the Ramsey-trailer. loads
ty ( its
to
to snag while she
was serving on the 'Minnes.ota
of wood chips. t0
Y p
around the time she moved to 'in 2005. Washington Metro Watershed . facility;to be burned for energy,
House_ of Representatives: '.She.
.
south Maplewood 20 years ago. CoPar 'resubmitted the plans District the Department of Nat accordin to Gaynor.
. P � p g
"
.. said it was "more difficult to have
"I started walking up the creek. with, fewer parcels but ' � t ural Resources (in the form of Ga
Gaynor noted. that there are no
money allocated then .but the
. and couldn't believe how beauti- -able 'to build them. _'The develw a $500,000 grant), the 3M Cor- maintained hiking trails, yet, but
request may get a better recep-
ful it is there," she said. "It's hard oper went bankrupt i-A the wake poration and the Friends of the the site is-open to the public,
tion during the .current legisla-
to believe you re still. within the of the real-estate market crash. Mississippi River (also the des- Motorized ' vehicles are not
five session. •
city boundaries." Maplewood had another, ignated fiscal agent for the pro- allowed on the land, and bar-.
She thought was an "undis- chance at the:.Fish. Creek prop- :� ceeds}. ricades were set up 'near the
covered. filld with deer; but experienced
A r
�c own jewel
Being a resident of south
. erty, another set- entrance this winter to" deter
gem,'?'
turkey running in the woods and back: It didn't have the money Restoration 7them.
Maplewood, Slawik has. wit-
wit-
nessed the value of the Fish
ra tors soarin above.
p g Getting. close -to the deadline As. the fate of the ro ex .
• . p p ty
Then; she got involved with a of being able to purchase it, a wavered,.so-did its maintenance. Kaitlyn Robb can be reached
Creek property from her own
city environmental group. She -national organization stepped in. Invasive plant species ATV .. at 65 748-7814 and . kroby@ it -
'
yard•
found out. residents had already The, Conservation Fund. tracks and trash from illegal gar.- lieneivs.eorh. Follow her.at twitter:
"I can see both downtown
been advocating for the purchase bought the 70'. acres in 2011 for bage dumpers have marred the com/KRobbNews _
Minneapolis' and downtown: St
Of the land for yeairs. $1.9 million; which was aroundland. Partiers are known to han g
Paul," Slawik said. "we're up
. -
. She said, "The big ."thing was. one-fourth of past asking prices. out there, " too, and large grass