New state park must not come at the expense of existing system
Viewpoint by Parks & Trails President Tim Farrell
Published in Grand Forks Herald July 29, 2007
The day after Gov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled a plan for a new state park on Lake Vermilion, the Herald’s Tom Dennis wrote an insightful editorial that made an important connection between the governor’s proposed new state park and its potential impact on the existing state park system (“Advocates wanted for EGF's recreation area,” Page 4A, July 19). Dennis referred to the Red River State Recreation Area as one of the parks within the system that could suffer if a new park is added.
There is little doubt that the proposed new 2,500-acre state park on the eastern shores of Lake Vermilion would be a crown jewel of the state park system if the Legislature authorizes the purchase and development of the land currently owned by the United States Steel Corporation. The park, combined with the adjacent Soudan Underground Mine State Park, would provide more than 10 miles of recreation shoreline, 40,000 acres of water and 3,700 acres of land for the public to enjoy on one of the state’s most spectacular lakes.
However, while anyone who loves Minnesota world-class parks and trails should welcome Gov. Pawlenty’s desire to expand the existing system, such an expansion cannot and should not come at the expense of other parks.
On the surface it may not appear that a new park on Lake Vermilion could have anything to do with the nearby Red River State Recreation Area. I wish that it didn’t. But when you plug the multi-million dollar price tag associated with the new park into an existing system where budget cuts have negatively impacted visitor services, you must conclude that there is legitimate cause for concern. An expansion of the state park system is only logical if it is accompanied by an expansion in the budget to maintain and operate that system. And therein lies the challenge for the Legislature.
State conservation funding that supports our parks and trails has dropped to its lowest level in 30 years. The impacts of this drop have been seriously detrimental to all state parks. We have already lost all seasonal naturalist programs in state parks, we have seen routine maintenance in our parks and on our trails delayed and made more expensive later on, and we have seen visitor center hours and camping opportunities dramatically reduced – even during peak seasons. With 1.2 million more people expected to make Minnesota home in the next 25 years, there will be even greater pressure placed on our parks, trails, waterways and wildlife habitat.
All of Minnesota’s parks and recreation areas are important because they provide public access to significant, natural, cultural and historical resources. The Red River State Recreation Area, for example, features a unique river ecosystem that is home to channel catfish, lake sturgeon and other fish and aquatic life. It is located on an especially important migratory route for many species of birds, including songbirds, hawks, bald eagles and owls and provides valuable habitat for migrant, breeding and resident birds and wildlife.
As a proud Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota member that cares deeply about all of our state’s parks and trails, I urge readers to join us in challenging legislators to build a new state park on Lake Vermilion while also challenging them to invest in the operations and maintenance of an entire park and trail system that is so essential to our economy, our health and our outdoor way of life. In addition, I urge people interested in speaking up specifically for the Red River State Recreation Area to contact the Parks & Trails Council office at 1-800-944-0707 so we can help you form your very own advocacy group.
F. M. (Tim) Farrell
President, Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota
Farrell is president of the Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota.