Adopt A Park / Buckthorn / Citizen Science
The Friends became the first organization to officially Adopt A Park when the City of Lake Elmo began this program in Spring of 2018. Since then we have made great strides in clearing invasive buckthorn from the Park, successfully advocated for trail improvements, and sponsored Citizen Science studies of the ecology – what lives here, and how is it doing. Please scroll down for more information about these three initiatives.
BUCKTHORN REMOVAL – “RESTORATION OF SUNFISH LAKE PARK” has been awarded over $650,000 in grants so far!
George Johnson of Lake Elmo made a personal commitment of eight years to remove buckthorn from Sunfish Lake Park. The effort began in Summer 2018 with George leading a monthly volunteer work party to cut and pull buckthorn. To entertain the families of the workers, we made buckthorn games (from buckthorn wood) such as Croquet and Bucket Toss and dice for Yahtzee. The appeal for participants was very successful and by Fall, Connie suggested that we have a Buckthorn Festival. Bob Shaw, local reporter for the Pioneer Press, heard that we played buckthorn croquet, and put our story and picture on the front page of the paper October 9, 2018! He called SMINC “quirky” and told readers about the first Buckthorn Festival on November 10, 2018. People were invited to come and join a team, competing to see which group could cut the most buckthorn in two hours. Members of each team were given distinctive-colored head/arm bands. The workers were served a lunch of buckthorn-roasted hot dogs, chili, and all the fixings. Don came and played the accordion for atmosphere, and all had a good time. George was crowned King of the Buckthorn Warriors.
Then George found out about the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources-Conservation Partners Legacy program that provided grants to remove invasive species. On the second try, the Friends received a grant in January 2020 for a $154K project “Restoration of Sunfish Lake Park” to clear buckthorn from 40 acres. Partners in this Phase 1 effort were the DNR ($138K), the City of Lake Elmo ($10K) and the Friends (300 volunteer hours at $20 each, $6K). As the work progressed, it turned out that 800 volunteer hours were contributed, making it much easier to convince the City of Lake Elmo to continue participating. The DNR awarded the Phase 2 funding, $457K, in September 2022 to do the remaining 140 acres of buckthorn infestation. Later it was found that some follow-up work would be needed in certain areas, and a Phase 3 grant of $50K was awarded in December 2023 by the DNR. (total $661K for this work) – UPDATE of 7/7/2024.
The effort has proven quite successful, and now there are open areas where visitor can see into the forest where the view was once blocked by buckthorn. The past couple of Winters have been so warm that the soil has not frozen solid enough to move heavy equipment without creating major ruts. This situation has required a change of work plan. The ultimate goal is to create and sustain a regular controlled burn, such as is in place for the restored prairie, which would greatly discourage the buckthorn and minimize the accumulation of excess fuel on the forest floor. This use of fire would return the forest to the natural state which existed before European settlement in the area, when forest fires began to be prevented.
Work is ongoing, and always evolving. For the latest information on the project, click here.
Information about GARLIC MUSTARD removal coming soon.
IMPROVING THE TRAIL SIGNAGE AND MINIMIZING COLLISIONS
When the City Council added single-track mountain biking trails to Sunfish Lake Park, some of the hiking trails were deleted in accordance with the terms of a Conservation Easement held by the Minnesota Land Trust. The Friends worked with the Sunfish Lake Park Trail User Group and the Public Works Department to minimize hiking/biking intersections and to convince the City Council to declare that the trail usage for hiking and biking would be separated. This rule reduced the chance of faster-moving traffic colliding with slower moving traffic. A more logically numbered hiking trail map was also designed and installed at all intersections
CITIZEN SCIENCE – STUDIES OF THE ECOSYSTEMS OF SUNFISH LAKE PARK
There have been ongoing studies in Sunfish Lake Park by Government agencies, for example lake level and water turbidity measurements, forest management studies, and monitoring of the groundwater for chemicals which leach out of the nearby closed Washington County Landfill on Jamaca Avenue.
To improve the knowledge of details of our local ecosystems, and for the creation of interesting exhibits, the Friends have sponsored or participated in various Citizen Science efforts. Here is a list of projects we have done.
Our Fish Survey of Sunfish Lake was first done in Summer 2018, and we caught many sunfish, up to 7.5 inches long. Then two cold winters created longer-lasting ice pack on the lake, leading to winter kill of the fish. In 2023 we surveyed the fish again and found a few small sunfish, but also noted that goldfish (koi, a type of carp) were present.
In 2019 a Bluebird House Trail was installed by a Girl Scout troop and a few Cub Scouts from Stillwater. These houses are cleaned annually before the next nesting season, and in some years we have been able to make a Nesting Survey list of the most probable occupants of each house.
The Mammal Survey of Sunfish Lake Park was done by intern Grace in Summer 2021. She built tracking plates and set up temporary trail cameras in over a dozen locations, and confirmed the presence of 13 species of mammal, including a mink and a fisher. She did not observe a bear, but their local presence is documented in photos taken by neighbors whose land is adjacent to the Park.
Liana, Summer intern in 2023, did a Macroinvertebrate Survey of the creatures that live in three bodies of water of the Park, Sunfish Lake, the un-named central pond, and the landfill pond. She identified these creatures and used the diversity index to estimate the differences in water quality.
In Summer 2024 Nina and Riley are doing a Survey of the Invasive Plants of Sunfish Lake Park, and are working to create maps that display the location and concentration of the ten species of greatest concern.
In 2023 SMINC began a cooperation with the Washington County Master Gardeners ( https://washingtoncountymg.org/ ) Tree Squad to install an educational Tree Trek in Sunfish Lake Park