Author: Lisa Filter

January 9, 2015

2015 Winter Newsletter

Inside this issue: Bike MN plans Grant guide Peggy Prowe receives top honors DNR unveils System Plan and more Download Newsletter PDF
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December 16, 2014
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DNR announces park and trail grant opportunities

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announces grant funding opportunities for park and trail projects across Minnesota. Applications are now being accepted for the following grant programs: outdoor recreation, regional trail, local trail connections and federal recreational trails. These grants help local governments throughout the …

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December 9, 2014

Friends build a trail connecting Glendalough State Park to nearby Battle Lake

The small, northwestern Minnesota city of Battle Lake is undergoing a transformation. It is quickly becoming a bustling community with an abundance of people zipping along on two wheels. The impetus for this change: the Glendalough Trail. The new, hard-earned trail starts in downtown Battle …

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bikers on trail through prairie with Glendalough Trail sign and Legacy sign
September 21, 2014

Making a vital trail connection while restoring a prairie

  So close, and yet so far. For years the 22-mile Glacial Lakes State Trail has been just five miles from the popular Sibley State Park. For bicyclists visiting the park, that’s five miles too many. In 2011 park supporters decided that connecting the Glacial …

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The rolling grasslands with pond at Sibley State Park
September 1, 2014

Preventing lost opportunities to save park and trail lands

By Mike Tegeder, president
Over the years Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota has had the joy and privilege of working with extraordinarily dedicated individuals. Mark and Joan Strobel definitely fall within this category of extraordinary. Their history with Parks & Trails Council is particularly motivating because it shows how committed individuals, who care deeply about parks and trails, can make a lasting difference. Over the years Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota has had the joy and privilege of working with extraordinarily dedicated individuals. Mark and Joan Strobel definitely fall within this category of extraordinary. Their history with Parks & Trails Council is particularly motivating because it shows how committed individuals, who care deeply about parks and trails, can make a lasting difference.
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July 27, 2014

New segment of Paul Bunyan Trail Complete

On July 27, a new 6-mile segment of the Paul Bunyan State Trail was opened to the public. This new segment extends the current trail south from the cities of Baxter and Brainerd into Crow Wing State Park. It is a scenic, meandering trail that …

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Group celebrating a ribbon cutting for the Paul Bunyan Trail
June 4, 2014

Our park continues to grow

A $3.8 million, 164-acre acquisition successfully closed on June 5, 2014, bringing the park total to 721 acres. The purchase was made possible with $2.2 million in grant funding and additional match funding from Wright County and the City of Monticello.
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June 1, 2014

Looking ahead to the seventh generation

By Mike Tegeder, president
A teaching of the Great Law of Peace of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy) mandates that chiefs consider the impact of their decisions on the seventh generation yet to come. As the Parks & Trails Council gratefully celebrates 60 years of “acquiring, protecting and enhancing critical land for the public’s use and benefit,” this principle can guide us in our essential work. As we rightfully have much to celebrate, it is also good to look ahead 60 years and beyond to the seventh generation.
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March 18, 2014

David Minge

Your Honorable Park and Trail Lover

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David Minge on bike
March 1, 2014

Parks & Trails Council is turning 60

By Mike Tegeder, president
There can always be a bright side. This winter’s cold weather has limited my cross-country skiing a bit but it has freed up some reading time. Most recently I have enjoyed reading “Stillwater,” a novel by Mankato-based writer Nicole Helget. I was intrigued by the book’s dedication:
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November 1, 2013

Parks are hands-on classrooms

By Mike Tegeder, president
In August, with other Parks & Trails Council members, I attended the rededication ceremony for the visitor center at Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park. The last time I visited this park was in the mid 1980s, shortly after the state purchased the cave from a private landowner who could no longer afford the maintenance.
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October 1, 2013

Persistence in fulfilling the vision for a trail in southwestern Minnesota

Fast forward 46 years and you may be surprised to see that only 11 miles of the 110-mile trail corridor for the Casey Jones is paved and another 9.5 miles is natural surfaced. “You could look at it as not much done over 40 years, or you could look at it as a lifetime’s work,” explained Bruce Johnson, a board member for the Friends of Casey Jones Trail.
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Casey Jones State Trail sign for Currie Loop
October 1, 2013

Making friends

The Friends of Nerstrand Big Woods State Park officially formed in September of this year. A driving force behind the creation of the new friends group was Emily Nesvold, a P&TCM board member and Northfield resident. “I saw the need for this group back in …

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waterfalls with sun beams
June 1, 2013

Spurred to action to action by a threat

As is often the case with the formation of Friends Groups, it took the threat of development to spur organized action. For Minneopa, that threat was the National Guard, who had proposed building a firing range along the western border of the park. When local activist, Brand Frentz got word of the proposed firing range he realized
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Old, brick mill with wildflowers
March 19, 2013

Mary Lee Dayton

Legacy Builder
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Mary Lee Dayton