Peregrine Having Lunch in the Middle of Snelling Avenue

Taken from a story at kare11.com.

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- After 20-plus years as a St. Paul police officer, Bob Winsor has seen just about everything. But what happened at Snelling and Ashland Friday was certainly a first.

Officer Winsor blocked a couple lanes of traffic for 30 minutes to protect a bird that was feasting on a pigeon in the middle of the road. His reasoning was simple: "Anything that kills pigeons is good with me."

But Winsor soon learned he was protecting a rare peregrine falcon, which is the fastest bird in the world.

"It's a great success story," says Lori Naumann with Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources.

It's unusual to see a peregrine in the middle of a busy road, Naumann says, but they are becoming more common in the Twin Cities. And it wasn't always that way.

"In the 1950s and 60s, they were almost extinct," she says. "They were placed on the endangered species list."

Thanks to intense restoration projects that started in the 1970s and 80s, Minnesota now has more than 50 peregrine pairs, which raised 93 young last year.

"The population is doing really, really well," Naumann says.

The U.S. ban on D.D.T. was another reason for the peregrine's comeback. It was removed from the U.S. endangered species list in 1999. It remains on the state's threatened species list, but Naumann says it could be removed in the next couple years.

Because the peregrine on Snelling had a band around its leg with the code "27A," we know she was born in 2007 and is named Elspeth. She's named after the granddaughter of Bud Tordoff, the man behind Minnesota's peregrine restoration.

"Dr. Tordoff passed away last year, so it was pretty special to see that this was a bird that's still surviving," Naumann says.

Elspeth is simply a sign of his success, which is good news for peregrines, but bad news for pigeons.

By Joe Fryer, KARE 11 News

photos by Peter Leete

The Colors of a River: Pollution and the Upper Mississippi

“The Betsy-Nell,” Clarence Jonk wrote in 1933, “has been lowered into the sewage-laden water where fish die, bloat and turn idly about in the eddies, showing their worm-infested bodies like a curse to the men who infected their world. Continuously their white mouths nudge the manure of humanity, the off-wash of the streets and gutters; and here, curling under our starboard side, a brown foam bubbles and steams. Such is our baptism into the Great River.” (River Journey)

What was the Mississippi River like when only American Indians and early explorers paddled its waters? When did we first begin polluting the Mississippi and how? How bad did it get before anyone did something about it?

At his recent presentation, "The Colors of a River - Pollution and the Upper Mississippi River", historian and author Dr. John O. Anfinson of the National Park Service discussed these questions and took a look at the pollution issues facing the great Mississippi today. About 160 community members braved a frigid evening to hear the presentation, which was held at Augsburg College on Monday, January 26th.

John is a historian with the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service. John is the author of a history of the metro area Mississippi River entitled A River of History. As an independent scholar, his book, The River We Have Wrought: A History of the Upper Mississippi River has been published by the University of Minnesota Press .

Here is John summarizing the talk, followed by the conclusion of his presentation:



Photos courtesy of Chris Higgins.

River Gorge Featured in 1000 Friends of MN's Legacy Letters

1000 Friends of MN and Twin Cities Public Television have been working together to create short videos, called "Legacy Letters" highlighting some of the places and things MN residents treasure the most in our state. The videos are each a minute in length and are airing for the next year on the Minnesota channel (TPT's digital channel). According to the 100 Friends of MN website, "The videos will feature the hopes, dreams, memories, concerns, and visions of Minnesotans like you who can articulate what’s working well and what’s needed in Minnesota."

One of the places we treasure the most is the Mississippi River Gorge. Check out the following video about why this place is so special, featuring Carolyn Carr, ecologist with Ecological Strategies and key figure in the volunteer-based restoration efforts of the gorge.

West River Parkway Trail Improvements Open House

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is planning to reconstruct three miles of bicyle and pedestrian trails along West River Parkway from Franklin Avenue south to Godfrey Parkway. The trail will connect to the recently reconstructed section of trail at Godfrey Parkway along the side of Minnehaha Park.

Reconstruction will provide improved trail safety and durability, separated bike and pedestrian trails where possible, and river bluff protection and enhancement. The project may include other elements, such as signage, site furnishings, drinking water fountains and landscaping, depending on available funding. Planning and design efforts are expected to occur this fall and winter. Trail construction is anticipated to begin in the summer of 2009.

The public is invited to comment on plans at an open house to be held at Brackett Park on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 6:30 p.m. Brackett Park is located at 2728 39th Ave. S.

For more information contact Nick Eoloff, project manager at 612-230-6465 or e-mail neoloff@minneapolisparks.org.

It has been a great season for the Gorge Stewards project, packed full of invasive species removals, seed collecting and spreading, interpretive hikes, prairie planting, geology, birding, and more. A big THANK YOU goes out to all the volunteers who worked so hard to care for our precious river gorge this season, as well as to the program funders and sponsors (see the list to the right).

Check out these photos from some of the Gorge Stewards events this season!

Vote Yes on the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment!

This Tuesday, November 4th you will have the opportunity to vote on Minnesota's Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment.

All is not well in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Forty percent of the waters we have tested are polluted, and most of our lakes and streams have not even been tested. Funding for water, parks, and wildlife habitat remains near historic lows, and we are losing access for swimming, fishing, and wildlife watching. We have to act now, with this amendment, to protect our state's many water sources----for our own health, and for that of our wildlife, before they are lost forever.

The amendment would increase the State sales tax by three-eighths of one percent. This amounts to only about $1 a week and $56 a year for the average Minnesota household - a small price to pay for protecting our clean water, wildlife habitat, and natural areas.

While the latest polls show that Minnesotans are strongly supportive of the amendment -- 59% say they will vote yes -- we also know that many people who haven't heard about the amendment may leave that question blank, and anyone who doesn't vote on this question gets counted as a "no" vote. As a result, it appears the vote will be VERY close.

This amendment is about protecting our WATER RESOURCES, LAND AND NATURAL AREAS.
There is tremendous growth in Minnesota: over 1 million acres of wooded lands, natural areas and farmland will be lost over the next 25 years, as Minnesota continues growing faster than any other state in the Midwest. We want to make sure that while we grow, we are protecting and preserving our natural areas for recreation, which is so much a part of why we love it here, and protecting our lands for game habitat, wildlife, fishing, hunting, and hiking. The amendment will also help to fight global warming by protecting forest lands in Minnesota.

This amendment is about preserving our CULTURAL RESOURCES.
Minnesota has a long and proud tradition and history of arts and culture. Arts and cultural education are critical not only to our children's future but also to our state's economic well-being. Like our natural resources, our states cultural resources are an important part of our tourism industry and our great Minnesota quality of life.

This amendment is about FUTURE GENERATIONS.
Things as important as clean water are well worth protecting in our Constitution, and worth creating a permanent funding source for - especially when future generations rely on our actions today. Acting now to ensure that we properly protect our water, parks, wildlife, and arts and cultural resources for our children and grandchildren is an investment well worth making.

For more information about the the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment, check out the Vote Yes! website at http://www.yesformn.org. Click on "FAQ's" at the bottom of the page for some great information about the amendment.

Thanks in advance for your help in seizing this incredible opportunity to leave a healthy Minnesota to future generations! Please spread the word!

Tales of Rivalry at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Border

Have you ever noticed those cement structures that poke up on the east side of the river, just north of the Lake St. Bridge? It’s the remnant of a long-fought battle between Minneapolis and St. Paul. No, it’s not some 19th century battalion, although it does traverse the border between the two cities. It’s all that remains of the first lock ever built on the Mississippi River.

The Meeker Island Lock and Dam was built in 1907 and dismantled in 1912. An ironic finale to a century-long quest to tame the Mississippi River Gorge for steamboat navigation.

By the mid-1800s, the City of St. Paul marked the head of navigation on the Mississippi River and Minneapolis was on its way to becoming the milling capitol of the world. But each City envied the others’ glory and hoped to reap its own share of it from the river. Minneapolis’ quest to move navigation upriver was finally realized with construction of the Meeker lock and dam and another low dam and lock at the site of the current Ford dam in St. Paul. But even as they were being built, St. Paul was pushing for one high dam that could generate hydropower, and would flood out the Meeker project as a result. In the meantime, the milling industry was winding down, and the rest is history.

Well actually it’s all history, and I and 50 other folks were lucky enough to get the complete tale last weekend during the Meeker Island Lock & Dam Ruins Interpretive Tour led by Dr. John Anfinson. John is a Historian for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area – a unit of the National Park Service that runs through the Twin Cities. If you missed the Meeker tour, look for it again next Fall. John also gives a presentation about the Meeker story called “Rapids to Reservoirs,” with lots of great photos from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Of course it’s also a great time of year to explore the area on your own. The ruins can be accessed from East River Road at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Border. There is an old wagon road on the St. Paul side that was recently converted into a new trail, and there are iron steps that lead down from the Minneapolis side.

It’s also pretty cool to see the site from the water – sign up for FMR’s Gorge Fall Colors Paddle on October 11th and you can take it in riverside!