ENTER AGENDA SECTION HERE- Rebecca Haug, Water Resource Manager
Title
SOUTHERN BLAINE WETLAND SANCTUARY RESTORATION AND COMMUNICATION PLAN
Background
At the August 12, 2019 City Council Workshop, staff presented information about the unique grant opportunity to finish the restoration work at the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary utilizing grant dollars from the Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund through a partnership with Great River Greening.
During the workshop, staff indicated that a communication and restoration plan would be developed and brought back to the council. After the council meeting, staff met with Great River Greening and Critical Connections Ecological Services to develop the communication and restoration plan.
The communication plan is as follows:
• A letter has been sent out to residents about the project and upcoming open houses. The letter was sent to you and is included.
• An open house will be held on Thursday, October 24, 2019 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. with a short presentation from 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. The open house will be held in the Cloverleaf Farm Room.
• An article about the upcoming work will be included in the next city newsletter and on the city’s social media sites.
• Great River Greening will be sending out e-news stories about the project during the same time as the city communication.
• E.G. Rud and Sons, Inc. surveyed the city property lines in early September.
• Critical Connections Ecological Services has completed a tree assessment to determine what trees will be left. All diseased ash trees will be removed.
• Great River Greening sent out the RFP on September 20, 2019 with the deadline for contractors November 1, 2019. Work will include tree removal in early winter and herbaceous removals to be done in late winter. All work is weather dependent and may require work to be completed over two seasons, winter 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.
The restoration plan is as follows:
• Staging and grinding off of 109th contingent upon permit issuance from Anoka County Highway Department.
• Depending on health of trees, the contractor will leave two rows of trees along city property lines.
• Trees larger than 3” in diameter at breast height will have stumps ground.
• A few areas will not be restored and can be seen on attached map.
• Trail construction is not part of this restoration work so discussions about future trails will be discussed at a later date. However, the trees on city property that was platted for future trail heads will be cleared.
The restoration will include the removal of non-native invasive and overabundant native woody species similar to the work that was completed in the northern half of the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary. A difference between this area compared to branch 3 and site 7 is this will not be a wetland bank so there is more flexibility in the restoration efforts and can be developed through the plan. The center of the site would be the main focus and then have the restoration feather out to the exterior. The properties in this area are primarily large lots but the restoration will be sensitive to aesthetics for neighboring properties.
Recommendation
Informational