Ugh. As the saying goes, "with friends like this [watershed district and park board and other officials], who needs enemies?"
Hope people will contact the RCWD staff at the number you give below, 763-398-3075. Stephen Greenfield Minneapolis <mailto:tapacul...@gmail.com> tapacul...@gmail.com --- Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:16:07 -0500 From: Gordon Andersson <gpanders...@msn.com> Subject: Anoka Co. vs. Rice Creek --- Locke Park/ Fridley 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 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. ... 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.
