ECOLOGIAL RESTORATION
ER
AT CEDAR LAKE POINT BEACH (AND BEYOND)
Oh, the treasured morning walk around Cedar Lake on this beautiful early spring morning. The sunshine, the birds singing from the trees, the geese squawking from there shoreline, and the silhouetted shadows of trees cast upon the wilderness walk. To be present in the moment is one of nature's gifts. That's one part of the experience. As like many weekend mornings, to be among the first human tracks through this "unmanaged natural area" as the Minneapolis Park Board designates it, is also to experience part of last night's past. Three nodes of activity seemed to be really happening last night. "Sunset Bench" seemed most popular, followed by Memorial Grove, and then the mound. I'm trying to envision the fun it must have been roast almost two packages of hotdogs over a campfire. Half of package were left untouched and left behind. And those more than a dozen cans pf Hamm's beer must have tasted so good that it seemed like fun to toss all the cans into the marsh. At Memorial Grove and the mound, campfires must have been more about creating ambiance. Chipotle and beers and vodka were feast favorites. At the mound, it was like last week, toss down the throat and then down the hillside a half dozen Modellas. What do we expect? The thing I can't seem to understand is, how can we expect anything other than this kind of behavior when we have done so little to say what this area should be? Of course it would be nice if those who were using the park were not abusing it. But wouldn't it also be nice if we had posted hours of when the park is open and closed? Wouldn't it be nice if we could have the area patrolled to provide a sense that this kind of behavior will not go unchecked? In reading and re-reading the history of establishing this area, it's always been community led. In 1986, the community created the Cedar Lake Park Association to purchase the land keeping it from being developed, "to establish a nature park in the heart of the city." Since they donated the land to the Park Board, most formal expressions of the park's experience with nature have been urged by the local community. East Cedar Beach wasn't even named until a few years ago. The wooded area to the south of 21st Street was incredibly accomplished by two women and their legions of community volunteers. The wooded area to the north created Memorial Grove, planting a spiral tree design was created by volunteers. The prairie along the Cedar Lake Regional Trail wouldn't be there if it were not envisioned and driven by community volunteers. We're at a time where we could use a little help from the MPRB. This area needs to be elevated beyond "wilded" as it was referred to in the Cedar Isles Plan before the community pushed back saying this was just placing a positive spin on the reality of the area actually being neglected. It is formally called an "unmanaged natural area" meaning it faces special challengers even getting on the radar and attracting funds to support its needs. Welcoming more to the nature park in the heart of the city More visitors, brought on by there warmer months and the oncoming light rail with two adjacent stops, will mean it's never more important to clarify and establish the identity and nature of this natural area. If we don't reinforce and remind and communicate the original intent of why this area was created, it remains vulnerable to being defined by those who can unknowingly and unintentionally destroy this nature park in the heart of the city.
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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. |