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INTRODUCTION This report presents the Restoration and Maintenance Management Plan for the Eagle Brook Church Conservation Easement within the City of. Lino Lakes. The site is located west of County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 21, 11/4 mile north of CSAH 14, on the eastern shore of Peltier Lake. The conservation easement totals approximately 14 acres and is held by the Rice Creek Watershed District. The forested wetland portion of this area totals approximately 9.5 acres, with the remaining 4.5 acres consisting of the farm .field to the south of the wetland The inventory for this report used existing information from the City of Lino Lakes Greenways Project as well as additional site visits in August and October 2003. The inventory documents existing plant species within the conservation area. The inventory was used to identify any existing natural communities outlined in the Minnesota DNR'sNatural Heritage Program. This area of Lino Lakes has undergone drastic changes over the last 100 years. Historically, this area was wet prairie then ditched and :farmed up until the present day. Today, residential, commercial and industrial development is moving rapidly up from the south end of Lino, Lakes and from Hugo to the east.. The Eagle Brook Conservation` Easement area will provide a buffer to Peltier Lake and preserve and restore Iwo important ecological systems This Plan describes the natural resource management activities for the Eagle Brook Conservation Easement and is designed to improve ecological quality of the site. Successful restoration of the farm field area will require a variety of people to be involved. These include Anoka County Parks, the City of Lino Lakes, the Anoka Conservation District, Rice Creek Watershed District, members of Eagle Brook Church, and area .residents PURPOSE OF MANAGEMENT PLAN The Rice Creek Watershed District requires that a management: plan accompany any conservation easement they co hold This report provides a framework for management practices required to maintain and sustain natural resources enrolled in the conservation easement This report will also describe the past and existing condition of the resource and its place in the larger landscape EAGLE BROOK CONSERVATION AREA. MANAGEMENT GOALS This plan shall serve as a guide for the long and short-term management of the Eagle Brook Conservation Easement area Natural resources will be managed to ensure sustainability of the resource while maintaining the ecological • integrity of the site This plan also provides a framework for managing the land for the greater community. It maintains high quality natural resources that perform ecological functions for the natural community and performs cultural functions for the human community. It. is .important that this. document serve. as a guide to the many generations of stewards responsible for the sustainable management of this land. It is the goal of this plan to maintain an informed stewardship that • continues to practice sound scientific natural resource management in perpetuity. • ` Management of the lowland hardwood forest area to maintain the composition, structure and function of the community. 'Management of the field area to restore composition, structure and function of a mesic prairie community while: encouraging a buffer of wet meadow shrub subtype (red osier dogwood and willow) in a zone • between the prairie and the cattails. Maintain native species composition within conservation area by using resource management techniques that promote the vitality of natives and dissuade the presence of nonnative species. Management of the field area in order to maintain the site for the herons and egrets to gather sticks and other nesting materials and to preserve habitat for native animals and indigenous plant species. DRAFT Eagle Brook Conservation Area Management Plan 3/17/2004