Minutes
Gustavus Land Legacy
November 8, 2005
Gustavus Public Library, 11/8/05, 7 p.m.
Present: Hank Lentfer, Nathan Borson, Greg Streveler, Ken Klawunder, Sandi Marchbanks, Ponch Marchbanks, Aimee Youmans, Carolyn Elder, Janet Neilson, Sean Neilson, Tania Lewis, Kevin [White?], John Barry, Nat Drumheller, Kim Ney, Swarupa Toth.
The Nature Conservancy has hired Hank to write a management plan for their property in Gustavus. This is funded by an endowment TNC created when they purchased the land. He will be conducting meetings like this as well as smaller, less-formal individual discussions to see what people want for the land. From that he and TNC will draft a plan and circulate it for public comment. He would like to have a draft by this coming Spring.
There are limits on what can be done on the TNC land. The state holds conservation easements on the coastal properties purchased with federal grant funds. Restricted activities include buildings, changing the topography, altering natural watercourse, biocides and pesticides, introducing wildlife, dumping trash.
The westernmost lands are owned by the state and will be managed like the Dude Creek Critical Habitat Area so they will not be covered by TNC's management plan.
He recapped the April 29 meeting briefly. A result of that meeting was a laundry list of concerns. Tonight we'll talk about trails. Other meetings will be scheduled to talk about other issues.
Trails
Do we want them? If so where and what should they look like?
Sean: Trails for visitors can be short, as with the Forest Loop Trail at the park. "Folks around here normally can get around OK"
Ken: Whit's trail is a quagmire and that might be a nice place for a trail.
Question from Tania re: rights of way. Legally, anyone can build a road along section lines, right? Hank needs to do further research on this with DNR.
Tania: Does TNC have a goal of providing access? Hank: Their bottom line is to protect habitat but they would like to accommodate the community provided it doesn't interfere with that goal.
Aimee is in favor of trails for visitors. Some of her guests are interested in "a good long walk" but she's afraid they might get lost. A map would be really nice. Trails/routes are an opportunity to protect habitat by directing the traffic.
Janet: Would there be restrictions that would keep ATVs off these trails? Hank: There could be 4-wheeler trails, foot-only trails, either, or both. In the case of section lines, however, we might not have the ability to restrict traffic.
John Barry: The ground is so wet here that trail construction is challenging. The big work is the trail tread. "The ground is so easy to walk here that I don't feel I need a trail." Maps, routes, and signs might go a long way without spending a lot of money for construction and maintenance.
Aimee: In Italy and France there are signs but they don't have to be blatant, can be inconspicuous markers.
Sean: If traffic is concentrated with blazes ruts will quickly develop.
Kim: There should be a variety. Maps and educational flyers, boundary signs, maybe some developed trails for the least comfortable, and someplace for the ORV users -- somewhere if not on legacy lands. "We need to have a variety of opportunities to meet everyone's recreational needs."
Swarupa: An option to educate about types of habitats and animals.
Tania: We have four main trails to beach: Airport, Glen's Ditch, Central Beach, Whit's section line. 3 of 4 are in legacy lands. Three of these are already established trails and we should stick to these. Or to one of these.
ORV use: Greg has no simple answer but a good place to start would be in the sand below the vegetation but above the mud. Would want to look at this a piece at a time. It would be possible to make a list of sensitive areas to avoid.
Sean: We could start a list of features we want and then start looking at where they would go. Agrees with Kim that we should try to accommodate everyone's recreational needs, if possible, without infringing on each other.
Aimee: Quiet zones would be an example of a recreational need that should be addressed.
Hank: And not all needs have to be met on legacy lands; for example airport land is already noisy.
Hank: ORV use is going to be one of the most contentious issues because there is a lot already out there. Any attempt to restrict this use will run into opposition.
Nat and Nate: Suggest no expansion of ORV use be allowed while this question is considered.
Janet: Likes signage -- showcases the special nature of the preserved land. It's a mark of civilization but there's the park nearby for wilderness hike. Hank has a box of TNC signs already.
Ken: There are graveled road
Sandi: Can be two maps -- one for visitors walking and one for others, who might be driving or using other uses.
Hank asked: How should he develop this plan?
Kim: Start with education. The purpose of the land and its restrictions.
Sandi: With the kids there needs to be a trade-off. If you take something away you need to give them something else.
Sean: Need to get buy-in by those who might be opposed (i.e. to ORV restrictions) by one-on-one meetings with them.
Nate: Would like to see a risk assessment -- the most vulnerable habitats and wildlife -- and then plan around that. Any restrictions should be based on this and should be easy to communicate the reason.
There does not seem to be any flat-out, absolute opposition to all trails here tonight.
One suggestion is to identify the sensitive areas, identify the desires for access, and then put them together on a map for further comment.
What about commercial use: Guided walks?
Greg: Amount and timing of human uses is critical to keeping the critters there, not just quality of habitat.
Hank notes: Pet use is also an issue, especially dogs.
Sean: Bikes, also.
Sandi: When planning a trail system, there are other trails in the community that could be connected. SEATrails. Morgan, Glen Nelson may have found out some about this. See also: Thomas Imboden's Trails of Gustavus book. Rather than inventing a new trail system we may be able to mark, link up, and improve an existing network.