ECOLOGIAL RESTORATION
ER
AT CEDAR LAKE POINT BEACH (AND BEYOND)
You know that feeling you get when you get a little wood splinter maybe from working or playing in the woods. It begins as a nagging irritation. You give it quick try to remove it. But you didn't get it all. It's in there for now. Just ignore it for now. Other important things to deal with right now.
But then there comes that time when you realize it's still there. It starts to redden, swell. Dang, it's still there and I've got to address it now because it's not going away by itself. This foreign object is now inside of me, and it's become a part of me. That's kind of the feeling I've been experiencing with this bike path through the Cedar Lake Park woods issue. I was discussing it with someone and last week and I heard a rationale for it repeated. That rationale was the splinter that started digging under my skin to the point that I really needed to address it. There is an argument by those advocating for a two lane soft surface bike path through Cedar Lake Park that if we don't accommodate biking in there, the bikers will just go where they want. As the logic goes, the lesser of two evils is the better choice. No! That's a false choice! I don't need to live with this splinter. I have choice, no a need, to remove this argument from under the skin of this idea. But what is my reasoning? How do I effectively treat this issue in a way that makes reasonable sense to others? The first idea is to dispel the notion that we don't have a choice to limit bikers from using a small part of our citywide huge park system. We've done in other places. Biking is not permitted in the woods on the east side of Theodore Wirth Parkway surrounding Eloise Butler. There are plenty of other area examples. Bike access to everywhere is not a right per se. The second thought is how do we as a public via our Minneapolis Park Board want to establish a leadership position with regards to how we welcome biking? Biking as a mode of recreation and transportation is exploding. And the definition of bikes is expanding every time you're on a bike path, including e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards, e-hoverboards, and who knows what's next. (Hereafter, I include all forms of e-vehicles when referring to e-bikes.) Personally, I think that's awesome. I am a member of the N+1 club, where you count your bikes by how many you own plus the one you want. But I don't believe that bikes should be allowed everywhere any more than I believe everyone has a right to an assault weapon. Yikes, did I just pull the pin on a hand grenade? So I look to the Park Board to assume a leadership role in establishing some reasonable rules and regulations. And given this is a Park Board, I would hope that those rules are based on principles and values. Namely, that the Park Board's mission to protect natural areas are primary to its purpose. Natural areas are to be protected and parks need to be accessible, but their role is not to be primarily driven by traffic circulation. Build it and they will come. Our city's bike network is growing to accommodate the needs and desires of bike and e-bike access. But bike and e-bike circulation should not come at the cost of depredating our natural environments, endangering our ecological systems, or diminishing our barely surviving native habitats. I look to the Park Board in taking a clear and respectful leadership position by limiting bike and e-bike access in some areas. And in Cedar Lake Park, this is very relevant because there's already a very good circulatory functioning bike path within feet of the newly proposed bike/e-bike path that is designed to cut through the woods. A sidebar: The woods at Cedar Lake is not a blank palette on which the Park Board planners have the right to color pencil in whatever designs they like. This natural area exists because in 1991, local residents supported saving the old rail yard from development in favor of natural parklands. For the past three-plus decades, volunteers have dedicated time, talents and treasures into protecting and enhancing wildlife habitats in this public area. I wish I had the scientific evidence to support this, but there are some anecdotal examples to support the notion that the Park Board's design to add a new bike/e-bike path through the woods will forever sanction biking in this natural area. That sanctioning will not only increase the intensity of biking. It will not contain biking but instead will spread -- like fingered tributaries of a flooded river into the surrounding walking paths. The examples that come to mind include, when was the last time you heard of traffic congestion decreasing after lanes were added to a highway? When was the last time you can recall that drivers did not speed up and race through an area when roads were smoothed? When was the last time that new paths were not created following the last one? It seems that it's human nature to expand and grow and go. Maybe it's time for human nature to try to listen to non-human nature who is dying and asking is to please back off. So as I try to pluck this prick of an argument from under my skin, I'm reminded that there's a sharp pain in the process of extraction. I may ruffle some feathers. But these wounds will heal for another day of playing and working in the woods.
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The morning's raindrops fell through the woods overnight, feeding the whatever life was churning in the soils under each footstep as I approached Demonstration Area D. Demonstration Area D is a new project area along the path that encircles the peninsula. It's a new project area that I created last week after ending up with five more new tree and shrub seedlings than we had room for in the other Demonstration Areas. Twenty five new seedlings were already just planted at Demonstration Area B, at the eastern tip of the peninsula, including: 5 Chokecherry; 5 Nannyberry; 5 American Hazelnut; and 10 Red Osier Dogwood along the northern shoreline. The soaked soil was perfect for plucking this new area that measures about 50 by 65 feet. Got maybe about halfway done towards plucking the middle-sized and most of the smaller seedlings. There are some biggies out there that will be managed by the "shucking" and then "plucking" process. Grew the pile of rootballs for "hucking", the following step in the process. Working with the park board Natural Resources field staff to rid these from the site.
After largely clearing the area, the plan is to very soon after seed the 3,250 square foot area with native seeds. Still working out which seed mix will work best for the area, which gets relatively good sun with southern exposure. Thankfully, the Cedar Lake Park Association has agreed to fund the purchase of these seeds. As usual, time in the forest provided a sense peace and quiet, surrounded by the birds that flitted by, seeing the light rain as an invitation to feed. Time in this place also offered opportunities to talk with passerbyers with whom we shared spotting of visiting birds and sprouting plant species. And as always, the couple hours were rewarding, witnessing the progress of clearing the area. Please reach out if you'd like to join me and others who have enjoyed getting their hands dirty. |
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March 2024
AuthorI'm Steve Kotvis, volunteer Park Steward for the Minneapolis Cedar Lake Point Beach peninsula who has a newfound love of restoring this natural area and more. I'm learning as I go, and enjoy sharing that with those who have an interest. I'm also a photographer, so the photos in this blog are mine unless otherwise labeled. |