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• • • Nature's Refuge EAW Record of Decision page 14 Parks and Open Space • The Metropolitan Council comments that the majority of the site is within a Metro Wildlife Conservation Corridor and a Regionally Significant Ecological Area of Outstanding Quality, while the eastern portion of the site is a Regionally Significant Natural Resources Area of High Quality, as designated by the DNR and the Metropolitan Council. Response: The City and the Nature's Refuge consulting ecologists (Critical Connections Ecological Services, Inc.) recognize that the proposed conservation development site is located within a Metro Wildlife Conservation Corridor, as well as within a Regionally Significant Ecological Area (RSEA) of Outstanding Quality. Furthermore, the City recognizes that the eastern portion of the site has been designated as a Regionally Significant Natural Resources Area (RSNRA) of High Quality by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Critical Connection Ecological Services, in collaboration with the Minnesota DNR and the City of Lino Lakes (and others), completed a comprehensive land cover classification and natural resources inventory of the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes corridor in 2001. This 35,000 acre inventory and assessment was responsible for the discovery and documentation of the unique habitats present within portions of the site (and elsewhere), and these data were then incorporated into the Metropolitan Council and Minnesota DNR's regional natural resources and conservation corridor ecological models. • The Metropolitan Council notes that the south portion of the property lies along the proposed Central Anoka County Regional Trail. The City should coordinate with Anoka County Parks to define the relationship of this trail with the development. Response: The EAW describes the trails through the development and how they implement the City's System Plan. It was an oversight that the EAW did not mention this important transportation trail along CSAH 14. The Lino Lakes Parks, Natural Open Space /Greenways and Trail System Plan includes a "proposed designated bike route" along CSAH 14, the route of the Central Anoka County Regional Trail. The Central Anoka County Regional Trail is tentatively planned along the south side of Main Street. When funding becomes available the County will consider funding and trail needs when comparing an off road trail vs. a paved roadway shoulder. The regional trail may fulfill the City's desire for a bike route. The Nature's Refuge site is on the north of CSAH 14. There is a crosswalk for the elementary school immediately east of the Nature's Refuge project site. Residents of the development could cross CSAH 14 in the crosswalk to access the regional trail on the south side of the road. In the future, CSAH 14 likely will be improved to four lanes. Conveying pedestrians and bicyclists to the signalized intersection of CSAH 14 /CSAH 23 would be the best way to cross CSAH 14 for access to the regional trail. For this