02/27/2002 Environmental Board Minutes

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ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 27, 2002 C. Environmental Asleson began with an update on Clearwater Creek and referred to the map, pointing out the goal for what was once called Wetland Q was to restore it to what was natural in the early 1900's. Box elder trees have entered the area since it had been cleared. Staff infoiuied the engineers working for the developer that the box elder trees would die, and that the residents would lament the removal of the trees unless the developer explained the plan. The homeowners did not receive a notice before the trees were removed, and were angry. There were some invasive species in the developmentl;0.(4,:he suggested that some of the money for restoration could be shifted. One species tha.t4W,§irvive was the woody white swamp oak. A meeting was scheduled that could fund a%Older. The neighborhood meeting needed to be in the spring. Asleson stated 100beeiVencouraged that the developer has had burns and seedlings. Asleson statedfljey.,Niaollowed through with the plan, and this was an area where good thin' eteOhappening. Donlin pointed out that in another area of the site, there was no: u - a between the were encouraging, but take a while to become estahhi e mentioned that he was development and the industrial park. Asleson statedsomelli.i,ngs were taking place that now seeing songbirds returning to City Hall. Asleson noted the greenway grant, which was plied" by the City and the Watershed District, had been approved in the Minnesa .CIAgsification System. Asleson addressed the blue heron popu ratiori,, and stated that the process was called by some as misguided, unsubstantiatedr secretive The one piece that had not been observed was the direct effect of elt,;tgena.course and its effects. The timeline for the joint ordinance was fast. ThAtate an&hCounty had tried to meet with the skiers, but the skiers had cancellekond gOWilineeting could not be scheduled. Any factor could have caused the hefiiiiitieavelidifficult to prove causal effect in biology, so professional judgrnentted tolma Phosphorus testing could take place if the skiers did not ski no :*#d during nesting season, and if they indicated when they were going: affkKing could be done before and after. Many had tried to find out the r.asonfor the eiron4-%departure. Donlin pointed oit t1at the DNR had invited the skiers to every meeting, and tried to make sure they weii,-,ot excluded. It cannot be proven that it was the course, and so there would probablY be threats. Asleson explained that with an increase in population, there is an increase in use. There were State laws on fairness of use, but it was left to the governing bodies to decide what was fair. Asleson stated that he had lived in the City for about 20 years and had never observed anyone skiing north of the island, which was a change that had taken place in the last 2 years. It appeared to staff that there was no more peaceful co -existence with the APPROVED MINUTES 6