04-30-2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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COVID-19 pandemic or civil unrest, you may be eligible for a temporary 25% discount on base energy and demand charges. Information Available Here Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center Update What Happened to All the Trees in the Park? Friends of Lake Elmo’s Sunfish Lake Park won a grant called “Restoration of Sunfish Lake Park” From the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Partners Legacy program to remove buckthorn from 40 acres of Sunfish Lake Park. Work continues on the project on which the City of Lake Elmo, the Minnesota DNR and the Friends are the "Partners". For background, please visit https://www.legacy.mn.gov/outdoor-heritage- fund and https://www.leg.state.mn.us/lrl/agencies/detail?AgencyID=957 Buckthorn is a very invasive plant that is detrimental to the park. Over time it takes over large areas and outcompetes native plants that are needed for a healthy ecosystem. Late this Winter, subcontractor Stantec completed “forest mulching” with heavy equipment in the southwest portion of the park. In this process, a track-mounted device ground up whole buckthorn trees (some were 40 years old!) and deadfall tree trunks to make a suitable cover for planting native species that had been displaced by the buckthorn. Click on the buckthorn tab on our website www.sminc-lake-elmo.org to see it on a map. Much of the buckthorn has been mowed down and mulched. If you take a walk in this part of the park, you will notice that the air is permeated with the unforgettable and invigorating aroma of freshly ground buckthorn. There are a few more areas that will require some hand work. We are looking for volunteers to help with this project in the coming year. Please visit www.sminc-lake-elmo.org for up-to-date information or call George at 651-757-5610. Now that the old-growth buckthorn has mostly been removed from the 40-acre restoration area, buckthorn stump sprouts will be sprayed next fall to kill off any new growth. This Spring about 15 acres of the area will be seeded with native woodland grasses. In addition to improving wildlife habitat, the grasses will help provide fuel for a prescribed burn (probably Fall 2022 or Spring 2023). Spot applications of broad-leaf herbicide are also planned for late Spring to help control other broad-leaf weeds (like burdock). A Stantec ecologist will be walking the woodland during the 2021 growing season to monitor recovery of the native ground layer plants and guide weed control efforts. Of course these dates are estimates and the actual times depend on weather and growing conditions. The Friends recently received a beekeeping license from the City of Lake Elmo for an educational beehive project at the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center. It includes an apiary area surrounded by a fence (electrified at night to keep out hungry bears), and one hive will be set up so you will be able to see the bees at work making honey and more bees. The Friends are working with the Lake Elmo branch of the Washington County Library to set up a story walk around the nature center, and to have outdoor readings for kids on Friday mornings at 10 AM this Summer. Please check the website for details. The Friends of Lake Elmo's Sunfish Lake Park are excited about the result of our latest cooperation with the Washington County Library! Andrew, Rebecca, Teresa and Olivia from the Library (left to right in pic) installed story boards on our holders along the trail, and video-recorded the story reading, and other activities around the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center (including beekeeping progress). Andrew even suited up to visit the bees "up close and personal". You may come any time the Park is open, walk the trail around the nature center, and read the story "One Dog Canoe" by Mary Casanova.