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a t V <br />A kka C ook 61 a <br />TKLKmONK <br />336*0333 <br />Btter of <br />^nmiission. <br />5 noted in <br />3uncil at <br />IS taken by <br />plan #2 <br />5t have <br />lel and <br />Council on <br />formation <br />ig« I will <br />agenda for ‘ <br />any questions <br />V?iiji. <br />oe ORONO <br />f <br />* <br />i4 <br />$ <br />' \ r, <br />!h^o- -i-n-n <br />March 14, 1977 <br />City Council and <br />Planning Commission <br />City of Orono <br />Orono, Minnesota 55323 <br />RE: Marshes/Dredging/Docks <br />Ladies and Gentlemen; <br />This letter outlines brief comments related to marshes and <br />wetlands, and more specifically to the effects of dredging <br />and constructing docks over marsh or wetlands areas, as <br />requested >'he Planning Commission while considering the <br />application oi. Mr. Cargill and Mr. Doherty (Victoria Grain) <br />for dredging a common dock area for seven lots on their <br />property on the North Arm. <br />The comments which follow are those of the writer, and not <br />his clients, and are based on nearly 16 years of active, <br />involvement as planner for more than a hundred projects <br />which included marsh or wetland development proposals. These <br />projects included dredging, filling, draining, supplemental <br />water, burning, floating and permanent walks, structures, <br />aeration, sealing, etc.; in short, nearly everything that <br />can be done to, or for, a wetland area. Each activity, <br />however, was intended to be part of a comprehensive develop­ <br />ment/management plan. <br />The following comments are offered not as a studied, struc­ <br />tured, re^/ort, but rather a response to several questions <br />posed by the Planning Commission. <br />1. There are no "natural** areas in any developed region of <br />the country unless they are "managed". Unless specific <br />and effective management activities are consistently <br />practiced, a vacant or unused part of an active agri­ <br />cultural or urban area ^ not and will not be "natural". <br />Effective management will include some, and usually all, <br />of the techniques outlined in the previous paragraph. <br />2. Lake Minnetonka and its flood plain area (up to elevation <br />831.5) represent an extreme example of "un-naturalness", <br />almost "anti-naturalness" in some instances. Consider <br />these impositions; <br />lO <br />CD <br />CsJ <br />CO <br />□ <br />CO <br />CO <br />LO <br />CD <br />O <br />OO <br />LU <br />UJ <br />O <br />UJ <br />UJ <br />CJ> <br />o <br />CD <br />□ <br />CO <br />CO <br />•0 <br />ob: <br />UkJ <br />planners □ LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS O ENGINEERS D SURVEYORS □ ARCHITECTS □