06/27/2001 Env Bd Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• 12. under Centerville Road then flows west and south through a series of wetlands to Wilkerson Lake in the city of North Oaks. In the 1950s, the lake was dry or nearly so, due to the presence of an illegal drainage ditch. In 1954, the Art Hawkins family purchased a 50 acre farm on the southeast shore of the lake with the intent of restoring the land to wildlife habitat. At that time, they persuaded the then MN Department of Conservation to plug the ditch and restore the lake to it's original water level. In addition, with the help of various government landowner assistance and incentive programs, they planted trees, created and restored small wetlands and ponds and most recently are attempting to establish native prairie as wildlife habitat on their property. The restoration work has been successful with nearly 200 species of birds, 37 species of mammals, and 17 different reptiles and amphibians recorded to date on the property. Four species of plants and animals are on the State's Endangered and Threatened Species List including the Blanding's turtle (a Threatened species reported from both the east and west sides of the lake) and the Forster's tern (a special concern species ) which occasionally have nested on the lake along with a pair of loons. The family has recently decided that all the effort at habitat restoration should not be lost through future development of the land. In 1995 they entered into a conservation easement with the Minnesota Land Trust to assure that the wildlife habitat values would be maintained, should the ownership change. Management actions recommended to sustain habitat values and functions: • it would seem worthwhile to determine if and how Cedar Lake could be restored to a more open marsh • the City's "Handbook for Environmental Planning and Conservation Development" published in 1999, show that the Cedar Lake area, because of its lack of development, should be incorporated in to the City's park and trail system. • large lot residential zoning (10 acres) should be retained along the Lake Amelia shoreline and landowner incentives pursued to encourage further wildlife habitat protection and restoration along additional portions of the lake shore. Literature cited: Brauer & Associates, Ltd., 1999. Handbook for Environmental Planning and Conservation Development: City of Lino Lakes. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 2000 Minnesota Land Cover Classification System Training Manual. St. Paul, MN. Wovcha, Daniel S., Barbara C. Delaney and Gerda Nordquist, 1995. Minnesota's St. Croix River • Valley and Anoka Sandplain. Univiersity of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. 234 pp. June 7, 2001