Editor’s note: Welcome to the February 2024 edition of our e-newsletter, “Treetop Views.” Please send feedback and ideas to Amy Gage, executive director, at amy@friendsoftheparks.org.
Take action to preserve habitat and clean water
The DFL Environmental Caucus is voicing concerns about the “explosion” of off-road vehicle (ORV) trails throughout the state, “with many more miles being planned,” according to one advocate.
The group urges anyone who cares about Nature and her resources to speak up on behalf of legislation being introduced in the Minnesota House and Senate to minimize the impact of off-road vehicles on public lands.
House File (HF) 2791 and Senate File (SF) 1324, chief-authored by Rep. Kristi Pursell (DFL-Northfield) and Sen. Kelly Morrison (DFL-Deephaven), respectively, “provide common-sense measures for habitat and water protection while allowing for a balanced approach to future development of off-road vehicle trails on public lands,” says DFL Environmental Caucus member Catherine Zimmer, who has been working with the Minnesota Public Lands Coalition on the issue.
Please urge your legislators to support HF2791/SF1324 and consider the following points:
- Allow OHV access on signed trails only. Signage helps riders know where they can ride to reduce habitat fragmentation.
- Promote buffer zones for waters that codify Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Forest Service guidelines.
- Insist on an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) to ensure the federal government understands and complies with the state’s particular needs.
- Ensure that tribal approval and local government involvement can happen early in the planning process.
Click here to input your home address and locate your state representative and state senator. Thank you, Friends!
Keep the Purple Line off Bruce Vento Trail
If you’re a fan of both bike-and-pedestrian trails and mass transit as solutions to climate change and promoters of good health, then join Move Minnesota — a sustainable transportation advocacy organization — at a canvassing opportunity on Tuesday night (February 27), 6 to 8 p.m.
We’ll work in pairs in and around Rice Park in downtown St. Paul to urge people to sign a petition that advocates re-routing the planned Purple Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) off the Bruce Vento Trail and onto White Bear Avenue. Friends of the Parks and Trails supports this change.
We’ll meet at Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul, just outside the West 6th Street entrance. RSVP so organizers can plan for clipboards and other materials. Click here!
Midway Peace Park honored as urban ‘oasis’
Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD) celebrated Midway Peace Park at CRWD’s annual recognition and awards ceremony on February 1. Located on University Avenue next to Skyline Tower (an affordable housing development from CommonBond Communities), Midway Peace Park recently secured city funding through the Neighborhood STAR Program to provide the park a water source and replace trees that had been lost to drought.
“Thank you for your part in restoring water and trees to this green and welcoming oasis in the midst of the bustling Midway,” wrote Friends of Midway Peace Park advocate and volunteer Jenny Keyser in a letter to CommonBond, the Saint Paul Parks Conservancy, and Friends of the Parks and Trails. All three organizations wrote letters in support of the STAR Program funding.
Union Park District Council played a strong role in the park’s development and typically hosts a “Fall Fun” get-together and fundraiser at Midway Peace Park every September.
Photo on homepage by bicyclist, blogger and Friends of the Parks board member Wolfie Browender
