Laserfiche WebLink
the forest floor and the shade-tolerant species typical of the forest are replaced by species more <br />typical of open habitats andforest edges. <br />There is no immediately life-threatening reason to worry about the loss of more maple- <br />basswoodforests from Hennepin county. If the remaining maple-basswoodforests in the county <br />were bulldozed away tomorrow and replaced by subdivisions or malls, few people would <br />perceive the difference. But the county would be more biologically impoverished, we would have <br />lost some of our natural heritage, and we would have destroyed sites that provide unique <br />aesthetic and educational opportunities." <br />1995 State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources <br />The Big Woods in the City of Medina is zoned as rural residential. It is important to note that the <br />golf course is a permitted use of the Cities of Medina and Orono Conditional Use Permits. <br />Comment: Ms. Elizabeth Weir comments, “Reading the EAW, I am distressed by the <br />lack of scientific information regarding the impact of the complete fiagmentation <br />proposed by the Spring Hill Golf Club (see before and after construction EAW maps in <br />Appendix B) upon specialized species within Medina 26.” (letter April 9,1997) <br />Response: The EAW does address that habitat will change due to the fragmenting of the <br />Woods, which will create more open areas and forest fringe. Some forest song birds will be <br />afTected due to predation and competition. <br />In general, the fragmenting of the forest will create greater “biodiversity” as a greater number of <br />species are found in forest fringe areas, as opposed to dense forested areas. That is not to say that <br />the greater biodiversity is an improvement over the specialist species which occur in a Big Wood <br />type ecosystem. There arc few species which exist solely in Big Woods habitat. Mature <br />deciduous trees are a common habitat requirement, and there will be many mature deciduous <br />trees remaining on this site. <br />*Please see attached fact sheets on specific wildlife species <br />Human intrusion and activity will only be present on the site from sunrise till sunset for 5 months <br />out of the years. Therefore, species remaining on site would need to be less tolerant of people <br />than if it were a park. <br />Microclimate conditions will change due to the edge effect. Some spring ephemerals may be <br />affected. However, the plant community would not evolve toward “shade intolerant ” species, <br />because they would remain in at least 50% cover. In addition, the golf club will maintain an <br />open forest edge by removing exotics, such as common buckthorn, honeysuckle, and other <br />understory shrub species. <br />Because the fairways are only approximately 150 feet wide, the possibility of “blow down” due <br />to increased winds, is minimal.