Pig’s Eye Lake Park access improvement
The Saint Paul Parks Department received a Star grant which is being used to research adding lighting and better signage at the City’s largest park. The difficult-to-access Pig’s Eye Park is located east of Downtown, off Warner Road at 81 Fish Hatchery Rd.
The Ramsey County Correctional Facility 77-acre grassland
This site provides critical nesting habitat for many rare grassland bird species, including Bobolink and Dicksissel, according to the Saint Paul Audubon Society. Ramsey County has installed no trespassing signs along its borders to protect the habitat. The Friends would like to see this property permanently protected by becoming part of Battle Creek Regional Park.
The former Boy’s Totem Town site
Ramsey County continues to its investigation into the future of the former Boy’s Totem Town (BTT) property in the Highwood neighborhood of St. Paul. The Boy’s Totem Town Preservation Group and Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi (formerly Lower Phalen Creek Project) used a Minnesota Historical Society Legacy grant to hire The 106 Group to create a Foundation and Vision Plan for the 72-acre site.
According to the preliminary report, the former BTT property has a long and complex cultural and historical significance. Earliest records indicate the land was used by the Dakota and was converted to farmland in the 1870s. Ramsey County opened the Ramsey County Detention Home-Highwood for ‘incorrigible’ or ‘unfortunate’ boy in 1916. The facility operated under several names as a residential treatment facility for adolescent boys until its closure in the summer of 2019.
The 106 Group recommended that Ramsey County create a Master Plan to consider “potential preservation needs and appropriate redevelopment of the property” by working with potential partners, neighbors and concerned citizens to plan the future of the site.
