04-22-2019 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Big Island Nature Park Management Plan November 2011 ____________________________________________________________________________ 8 owned and has been developed residentially or commercially for many decades, public recreation land abutting the Lake is relatively scarce. Big Island Nature Park‘s uniqueness lies not only in its accessible location and availability to the public, but in its storied history as an amusement park and later as a place where military veterans and their families could come to relax and enjoy the benefits of nature. Generations of vets and their families have intimate ties to the Park spanning many decades, and its draw for them lies in its peaceful setting as well as the pure mystique of being on an island and the memories it holds of days gone by. The Park also abuts Three Rivers Park District‘s Big Island Regional Park, a 62-acre wildlife refuge that has remained completely undeveloped. Separated by a narrow peninsula, the complementary parks share a goal of preserving the woodlands and wetlands that provide habitat for a wide diversity of animal and plant species. The cove along the northwestern shore of Big Island Nature Park has become a popular summer weekend gathering place for boaters from far and wide, who often tie their craft together in multiple rafts of a dozen or more boats each. There are few if any similar near- shore locations on Lake Minnetonka where adjacent lakeshore homeowners would not be affected by the noise of revelers and the bustle of boats coming and going. However, this level of activity along the shore on summer weekends has the potential to create an atmosphere that is in stark contrast to the serene natural character of the Park. Partnership with Minnehaha Creek Watershed District In addition to its key role in the City‘s acquisition of Big Island Nature Park, The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District has provided complete and unfailing support of Orono‘s efforts to improve and manage the Park. Activities aimed at long-term environmental management of the property have been accomplished primarily via Orono‘s partnership with MCWD, and could not have been accomplished without that cooperative effort. Not the least of these activities was the massive shoreline stabilization project in 2008-2009 which involved shoreline rip-rapping as well as use of vegetative methods for limiting further bluff erosion. MCWD staff have assisted the City in such diverse ways as creating the Big Island Recreational Map & Park Rules brochure, and by including a representative from the District on Orono‘s Big Island Nature Park Committee.