Natural Resource Stewardship Program

The natural resources stewardship program strives to control non-native species such as buckthorn and purple loosestrife. The program restores native plant diversity to our parks—over 150 acres of woods, prairies, and wetlands have been restored in the past six years. The program also coordinates volunteers to accomplish restoration goals in city parks.

History and Basis of Program

In 1995, the city of Minnetonka commissioned a study of the five major parks and three creek corridors to assess their environmental health and quality. The study indicated that all vegetation types throughout the city are seriously deteriorated or are deteriorating. Without human intervention, the overall trend will be toward continued degradation.

The opportunities for reversing the trend in the quality and vitality of the community’s natural resources are quite broad. At a minimum, a certain amount of effort is required to simply avoid continued degradation. At the other end of the spectrum, achieving an historic landscape quality can be approached—although it is unrealistic to expect that a pre-settlement landscape quality could be replicated given the impacts to the land over the years since settlement occurred. The goal of the Natural Resources Stewardship Program is to achieve a sustainable landscape quality that can be indefinitely maintained.

The city council has formally adopted a policy on restoring and managing natural areas in select parks within the city. The policy states that existing parks are top priorities for stewardship and that once remedial efforts are nearing completion and maintenance programs are sustaining the areas, then the program will be expanded under appropriate circumstances and available funding to include other open space areas. Prioritization of future sites will be at the discretion of the park board, city council, and city staff based on detailed review of each site.

An ecological system-based approach to restoration and management is promoted. General goals of this philosophy include:

  • To protect or enhance the health of the ecosystems in Minnetonka.
  • To enhance the biological diversity of its native habitats.
  • To provide an appropriate balance between resource preservation, recreational use, and community growth.
  • To maintain the natural and historic integrity of Minnetonka.
  • To establish partnerships and stakeholder involvement with a variety of agencies and citizens in the community to perpetuate sustainable resources in Minnetonka and surrounding areas.

Rationale for Undertaking Restoration and Management

The trend of deteriorating ecological quality provides its own rationale for taking action. The decline of the vegetation systems will likely be followed closely by reductions in the richness of wildlife species and the health and viability of other organisms in the ecological system.

There are many scientific reasons for taking action. The most compelling ones include:

  • Oak regeneration is not occurring and existing larger oaks are in serious decline.
  • Bird populations and richness are predicted to decline by more than half.
  • Native plant species have experienced significant declines.
  • Introduction and proliferation by non-native plant and introduced species represents a serious threat to soil, animals, and native vegetation systems.

Review and Update of Projects

  • We currently have restoration projects in 17 parks totaling over 175 acres. Some of the projects are smaller areas that involved removal of buckthorn as part of regular park maintenance and improvement. These would include Wilson, Oberlin, Junction, and Covington Parks.
  • Burwell House, Mills Landing, Outlet B on Dominick Drive, Beachside, and Green Circle Parks are slightly larger projects that involved buckthorn and non-native species removal and restorations of lakeshore, streambanks, woodlands groundcovers, and prairies. These projects came about as a result of opportunities provided by trail and park development, historic building renovation, and land acquisition.
  • Volunteers are removing buckthorn in Groveland and Kinsel Parks. The Optimists Club has been working in Kinsel Park for a number of years. The removal of very heavy concentrations of buckthorn from this park has not only improved the diversity of plant life, but has created visual improvements that many neighbors appreciate.
  • The bulk of the restoration, 160 acres, is happening in 6 of the larger parks. 28 acres of woodland/oak savanna have been cleared of buckthorn in Meadow, Jidana, and Big Willow Parks. Different removal methods were used in the 3 sites to compare cost, impact, and effectiveness. A mechanical method was used in Jidana Park that pushes the buckthorn down and mulches it on site. This was the most cost effective method of removal for very heavy concentrations of buckthorn. Unfortunately, this method is limited in hilly terrain and in dense stands of trees of preferred species. Usage of this machine must be monitored closely to prevent soil erosion and compaction.
  • Manual removal and chipping was used at Big Willow Park. This is the most expensive and time consuming method, but it does provide the best result. The chipped buckthorn is removed from the site and the visual appearance is probably most appealing to park users.
  • A cut-and-slash method was used at Meadow Park. This method is exactly what it sounds like. Cut the buckthorn down and slash it into small sizes to lie on the ground. This method is best for medium to small sized buckthorn in areas that are difficult to access or have steep terrain. Buckthorn cut in this way will decay over time and be reduced through prescribed burns. This method is not visually appealing, but it does the least damage on steep slopes and unstable soils.
  • The city hall/civic center campus has a wetland and wet prairie area in front by Minnetonka Boulevard. The tall grass prairie was seeded in 1997 and is currently thriving with big bluestem, cord grass, wool grass, Joe-pye weed, and many more species. Purple loosestrife is also being controlled to benefit an area of native tussock sedge.
  • Lone Lake Park in southeast Minnetonka offers some of the best diversity in geography, native species, and ecosystems. Currently 63 acres are in restoration, mainly in buckthorn removal from the woodlands. A 7-acre wet and wet/mesic prairie is located in the west end of the park. Coneflower, black-eyed Susan, and bergamot are prevalent in the summer months.
  • Our largest project is Purgatory Park in southwest Minnetonka. Of the 131 acres of natural area, 66 acres are in restoration. Besides large woodlands and wetland projects, Purgatory has the largest prairie area in the city. 13 acres of short and tall grass prairie cover the central area of the park. Another 7 acres will be planted on the south fork of Purgatory Creek in 2002 or 2003. An area of streambank has also been restored to control further erosion and sedimentation of the creek.
  • Buckthorn removal in Lone Lake, Purgatory, and Big Willow Parks used a significant percentage of the dollars appropriated for restoration in 2002. Projects for the remainder of the year will focus on management activities, such as, prescribed burns and herbicide treatments. Volunteer planting projects will also be scheduled.