HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 06-25 Keller Lake trail and boardwalk open to public MAPLEWOOD REVIEW Keller ' trail and boardwalk public
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Ramsey County � i � -, pet , -
taking extra T � m . ,
precautions to '°
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protect eagle nest
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the summer season in full t Ea ;
♦w r • , K r swing, Ramsey County residents it `4 A ti, 4, ' 4 °
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nd visitors alike can take their ° ary+ r � N
fun outdoors,and make their way • «" t r 0 ,
onto the new Keller Regional Park ` .
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trail and boardwalk in Maple "'}" ""' '
wood, both of which opened up photos by Linda Baumeister/Review "
Friday,bone of which
to the public The bald eagle nest,seen from the new Keller Lake boardwalk, The new Keller Lake boardwalk runs under the Highway 36 bridge
will be monitored to see if human activity has any impact on the and allows pedestrians to walk from Keller to Spoon lakes.
The newly constructed walk- birds'well being.
way is just over a week old, and
so far, patrons testing it out have and cleaning up rail edges. Win- undisturbed,and pedestrians safe. cess.A protective railing h, also levels to make sure they're OK
deemed it a success. ters said that the work will mostly To start,the county received an been installed to prevent pedes- around people"
"We actually had somebody take place during regular business eagle disturbance permit for the trians from attempting to go near Construction began on the
contact us about what contractor hours, but doesn't expect visitors boardwalk, which goes near the the tree that holds the nest. And Keller trail and boardwalk proj-
we used,because they really liked to find it intrusive as they stroll nest. The county will be moni- the trail will not be plowed, so ect last September from Lower
it," said Ramsey County spokes- along Keller Lake. toring the success of the nest, access will be restricted during Keller to Spoon Lake. The new
person Allison Winters. "We "It's just some really minor and gather information to deter- the winter nesting months. trail runs from the Highway
don't necessarily have (a formal- stuff; the people there shouldn't mine the impact the trail and "We've taken a lot of pre 61 bridge over Keller Creek at
ized way to collect) direct feed- notice it,"she said. its patrons have on the eagles' cautions to make sure that the Lower Keller up to and under the
back,but so far we've heard a lot One of the trail's biggest attrac- well being. The data will be for- eagles' nest won't be disturbed," new Highway 36 bridge. It then
of good things." tions is the bald eagle nest atop warded to the U.S Fish and Wild- Winters said, after conferring connects to the trailhead on the
While the boardwalk trail is a large tree near Highway 36, life Service. with Ramsey County natu east side of Spoon Lake.
open to the public, there will still just west of the Highway 61 exit. The county also avoided all ral resources manager Michael
be some minor fix-ups going on There is now a set of rules and constructions around the nest Goodnature. "Along with the You can reach Tim.Faklis at 651
over the next month. The county regulations in place,with the goal during February and March-key permit that we put together, we 748-7814, at tfaklis @lillienews.
will work on restoring the turf of keeping the eagles and eaglets months in the eagle nesting pro also studied the eagles' tolerance corn,or on Twitter @tfaklisnews.