HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 07-20 Celebrating restoration MAPLEWOOD REVIEW Volume 55, Number 29 A Lillie Suburban Newspaper Wednesday,July 20, 2016 '
Celebrating restoration
Keller Creek gets an totliti, ° Aundrea Kinney photos/
all-natural makeover 7ft., A , „ Review
t » bk t Top, Keller Creek
� is an important
,`",,,,e.. 4e ,,,,. ,#, r,„�r � �. „' e part of the Phalen
Aundrea Kinney *^ „n;;£ , „ 7i .a `
w ,a .. " ' chain of lakes, as it
Review staff ,.,p a ,
"" ,�,�' �� ,� x �, "004 le �� �,�a, controls the flow of
x '`" ,4" b,' `n\ ` r0"14410.4V4� " water from Keller
The Ramsey-Washington Metro Water- �",
'' '. ,*� ' '�*► Lake into Round
shed District staff and volunteers recently ,,,5 °° ' "
"" ""yea,, , °. i • Lake and Lake
celebrated the first two years of Keller t , ! + ' "� * '' Phalen. Bottom,
Creek restoration. k gx x 11"41
'- �^ 's" 4'`a , � " '� "I people walking
To mark their success so far, on July w k '„ 't
13 watershed district staff and volunteers a ' , Ai. � and biking through
, , I 4,. * e r Keller Regional
distributed ice cream and nativeplant k w �` �4 " la+ 41� 3,
I. k5 u, , �, , z ,� �, ,� , ��•. � � Park in Maplewood
information to people walking and biking � �' '�' A�� received ice cream
through Keller Regional Park in Maple- n - - �` s° w from Ramsey
wood.. The celebration also offered creek . y '` '� 4. Washington Metro
critter sampling,a wildflower walk and bird A �.r Watershed District
watching. * s + A- �► °°% 4 '5' staff and volunteers
Last year the watershed district and "`rx + ," ��1' . ` « on July 13.
Ramsey County, with assistance from Q v,.0 , - `
Rrs..0 `,, " ,� �` eft
the Minnesota Department of Natu- •^'+' , ,',:,,o t ; 3R. ► .. ft tip �'= ,
ral Resources, began a four-year project ' , "" ' ,,„ \,, ' , E ' f vz; •' �� :
to restore Keller Creek. Invasive species
such as buckthorn and burdock were to be , ,`
replaced with native species like black-eyed
Susan and Canada wild rye.
Although poison ivy is a native species,
staff have been removing it from the creek's
banks, because shore fishermen like the 1 g
same spots where the plant known for caul ,k , .,
a
ing itching thrives. v ;l�
Sage Passi, watershed education special- "„, . f i ;
ist, said that before the restoration, Keller " „" "'"T ,vt.
—mlok
Creek had erosion problems, and because *
the creek had been dredged many times
over the years, it had begun to lose its natu- F * , 1''t ` w
ral shape. However, she said, "One of the „f. ' '. ' ! • i t *
biggest issues alongthe creek area is that it '"" " �� �� t ,
is just full of invasive species." ,.t.
Before restoration began, Bill Bartodziej, p '',,k 'x
biologist for the watershed district, said that r „
the invasive plants meant a poor habitat `
see Keller on page 3 - .
Review __ Wednesday,_Ju1�20,2016 Paage_3
Keller. . . „,,,,, ,,,,,,s„,:-.11. —4.1. 'lir: v 4WV
continued from page 1 ;�. 4wir 0°
for fish and other wild- ''
life. He added that re lac '* •4 # « . 4 s
ing invasive plants with . ik a ,, t , '.
native plants should sta- r � ,'► v . `et4i' ,`4�. te
bilize the creek banks. ,, ` ? q' A
The creek is an impor- 4 ”t• �- ,` r' 4•44 '' " ,,,,v,
; .
tans part of the Phalen ; ` 4 4 * , ;i ,nrAlie‘ , �� bx
chain of lakes, as it con- 1- . . '' `� ..�.:a �„, , ` , $` ',ki„:i! ',�,.t, °
trols the flow of water n . `fr;.. ' f, ,``
from Keller Lake into Aundrea Kinney photos/Review -,- 1
Round Lake and Lake Clockwise from above:Those who visit Keller ”` .`,
Phalen. The majority of Regional Park will see early succession plants on the
Keller Creek's shoreline is east bank of Keller Creek such as black-eyed Susans.
owned by the Minnesota As part of the creek restoration,some of the rocks on r, = ,
s a
DNR,but is actively man- the bank were rearranged to form a safe landing for - t.-" ,, % ,i 3d
aged byRamseyCounty. people to safely portage canoes and kayaks around , .,* -$.344-
g y the weir.After invasive plant species were removed, - - f ,moi */v• . ,
The restoration wor .-, ::1-%,
eroding creek banks were protected with coconut "` _t !" v ,, .
began in 2015 by address _ �+►,
ing the east bank of the logs and brush bundles.Two wet meadow areas were •-' k -_ `� .- 4 ,. A
also created toprovide habitat to native wet meadow . , ``
creek,between Frost Ave ~ `"`°
nue and U.S.Highway 61, species like bulrushes,sedges and iris.
Conservation Corps staff from the watershed site, they had him rear x
of Minnesota and Youth district by replacing inva- range some of the rocks r
,� ;r. z
Outdoors crews helped sive plants with native on the bank so that ,
with site preparation shrubs, trees, woodland people could safely por- 'X ,,s� yi4"°4 ' ii y, a.
and removal of invasive wildflowers, prairie tage canoes and kayaksr t, .'h: ' � `A '
plants. grasses and wet-meadow around the weir. *� ,r y. + �., ,,,,;\4',
After invasive plant plants along the creek. According to the m;w , 4
species were removed, Two wet-meadow areas watershed district web-
eroding creek banks were created in 2015 by site, thousands of native ;'
were protected with excavating the soil a little flowers and grasses were
coconut logs and brush further from the bank and planted along the bank This year, the resto- over 3,000 native plants. be between the Gateway
bundles. According to planting native species by hundreds of volun- ration work picked up Blood noted that there Trail and Lake Phalen.
Simba Blood, a natural like bulrushes, sedges and teers in 2015. Those who on the west bank of the is still some work to be The Keller Creek restora-
resources technician with water iris. Blood said that visit the regional park creek. Fourteen classes done on the west side, tion project is funded by
the watershed district, the the excavated soil was along Highway 61 now from area schools — but she explained that the DNR, the Ramsey-
wood from the invasive used in the construction will see early succession Mounds Park Academy, this side of the creek is a Washington Metro Water-
trees were repurposed in of the new tuj lab courts plants that will end up Weaver Elementary, wider area and includes shed District and Ramsey
brush bundles to help pre- being built in Keller being mostly shaded out L'Etoile du Nord, Farn- more invasive trees than County Parks.
vent erosion. Regional Park between by other more slow-grow- sworth Aerospace and the east side had.
Students from area the golf course and Keller ing species over the years. American Indian Magnet In the next. two years Aundrea .Kinnejj can be
schools, Ramsey County Creek. The black-eyed Susan School — came to assist the restoration project reached at 651-748-7822
master gardeners and Blood said that while flowers are particularly with the project.Just this will continue, this time or akinneg@lillienews.
other volunteers assisted they had the excavator on prevalent in July. spring, students planted the work on the creek will corn.