MOU readers
After checking Birdcast and Weatherunderground last Friday night I thought Locke Park might be good for migrating passerines along Rice Creek. I wanted some nature therapy and opps for bird photography. What is the opposite of nature therapy? There were large clearcuts and wide bare-earth scrapes on slopes along the creek. There were piles of logs of mature trees (one of 40 dead trees). There was a ~24 in. dbh willow on the stream side of the trail that had been felled. (a tree that held the soil back from the water for 50+ years) A 100 yd slope to the creek had been turned into bare earth, with about 50 yds largely vegetation-free along a bank. There was riprap dumped where there there had been rooted banks. I was angry and asked trail walkers what was happening. An older couple who lives in Fridley said they had no idea of this until they saw it two weeks before. He said Anoka Co. had issued a contract for cutting and removing trees and creating bare earth with heavy equipment. Another walker said a worker told him that they had to cut the wide tracks "to get their machinery down to the water". He also assured him that it would "all grow back". Instead of getting photos of birds I took pictures of large-scale degradation of what was a beautiful meandering stream bordered by bluffs and forest. There was a sign that read "Construction of the Lower Rice Creek Stabilization Project is underway. This project will stabilize eroding stream banks and improve water quality. For more information see www.ricecreek.org/projects <http://www.ricecreek.org/projects> or call 763-398-3075." RCWD Rice Creek Watershed District. The RCWD decision makers, contract writers, and the contractors are probably pleased with their work. They see no irony in destroying the vegetative cover, exposing uneroded ground to new gully erosion, and replacing natural banks with tons of riprap. This creek did not need its water improved by destroying the vegetation that "stabilized" the slopes and bluffs. So to get the tons of broken rock down to the water edge to prevent erosion, we need to remove the trees and shrubs. So the bulldozers, and then large earth movers dumped riprap piles along the stream banks. Maybe this is a logical circle. We have to take out the forest to put in rock to catch the erosion caused by removing all the natural cover. When I retreated, after only crossing three bridges (very depressing) I drank coffee on a bench and talked to passers-by. Every one was very mad about what was happening to the creek and the forest. One of the individuals told me how the water district had made a beautiful raingarden -- that was full of wildflowers this summer. But when he walked by the site again, it was entirely dead. A city worker admitted to using an herbicide spray and killed everything-- this is weed control and pollinator control. The resident said this is "right out of the 1950's". He said the same about the Locke Park "construction" project. (construction = destruction) Just one detail---bridge No. 10 is the first bridge on the trail south from the east pkg lot. The trees and shrubs and ground cover on the SE side of the bridge are gone. Well actually two young aspen were felled into the stream. It is now bare ground on a ~30o slope. But there is no pile of riprap in the water. Why this egregious destruction? Where a Canada Warbler caught a moth one spring,-- right there-- there is dirt. And maybe by today there is big white riprap on the bank. To me the raingarden and this forested park were both destroyed by kill and overkill. Last spring I photographed a Swainson's Thrush taking a bath from the natural bank below a bridge. There is now a bulldozed spur from the trail to that spot that ends in a pile of riprap. Notice that I havent mentioned loss of bird habitat. I don't need to. You all know what forest birds need --- both residents and migrants. And there is less and less of it every year on both ends of migration and, just as necessary for life, every day in between. The Rice Creek "improvement" comes to you at your own expense --- county, state, or federal tax dollars. And the biggest expense is to the wildlife and for the human need to enjoy nature as natural. No, I havent called the number. I am tired of the endless effort of conservation-- trying to save what is left. In this time, for me, that has become the opposite of nature therapy. And I don't live in Anoka Co. (not a resident or county taxpayer; that can make a difference to govt people). Nobody is going to put the trees back or take back the riprap. That would require a new contract and more money in the budget. It means for me, one less place to restore well-being and contentment and finding birds. But go to Locke Park and see what was there and what some individuals decided is better than that. And then if you want to make "good trouble" do so. (the contact info is above) If you know journalists or politicians, they can make a difference. Good luck. GAndersson St Paul ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
