Volume Five, Issue One - Friends of Lake Nokomis

Volume 5, Issue 1
We envision a harmonious coexistence of the urban community and the environment created around the lake.
Environmental problems and disease are associated with
support such numbers. Left on their own, ducks and
feeding waterfowl
geese will occupy areas that provide sufficient natural
Giving food to ducks and geese (waterfowl) can create
many problems for birds and the environment, and both
the Friends of Lake Nokomis and the Minneapolis Park
food. As they deplete food in one location, they fly to
new feeding areas, often miles away, decreasing the
environmental impact they have on our park and lake.
and Recreation Board strongly discourage it. The notion
First and foremost, feeding waterfowl results in
that waterfowl cannot survive without human inter-
increased deposits of fecal matter, which can affect
vention is false. Ducks and geese have survived for
water quality and compromise human health. Birds
thousands of years without handouts and will continue
crowded into areas where people are feeding them are
to do so if left alone. Feeding attracts large concen-
often defecating in the same location. An adult Canada
trations of waterfowl to areas that can’t naturally
Goose deposits one pound of feces per day and like
ducks is a carrier of E. coli bacteria and other pathogens
(including the parasite that causes swimmer’s itch) that
can affect humans. Children in particular often come
into contact with droppings left on the surrounding
landscape and via the water in swimming areas.
Artificial feeding encourages unnaturally large flocks to
gather in one place where the competition for food can
continued on page 6
Nokomis Loses 300 Trees....................................................................2
Nokomis-Hiawatha Master Plan Implementation Begins!.......3
Lake Nokomis Neighbors for Clean Water.....................................4
Earth Day Volunteers Cleaned Up!..................................................5
5665 Woodlawn Boulevard
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55417
In the month of February, MPRB
development and establishment,
Forestry crews removed a portion of
which means that even these new
the ash trees within the park (marked
trees may die in future extremely wet
with green paint) as part of the Ash
years if we do not consistently experi-
www.friendsoflakenokomis.org
Canopy Replacement Plan driven by
ence wet springs. The park board’s
Join us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/FOLakeNokomis
the increasing Emerald Ash Borer
diversification of trees helps to
population, in addition to trees that
ensure that a stressor or disease that
died as a result of storm damage,
may kill some types of trees doesn’t
flood water immersion or disease
completely wipe out the urban forest.
(marked with orange paint). More
You can learn more about our urban
than 70 Ash were removed and 225
forest on the park board’s new
other species of tree were removed.
website (www.minneapolisparks.org/
Stump grinding for the removed trees
park_care__improvements/trees).
will be done when the weather coop-
Brewing a Better Forest (www.brew-
erates throughout the spring and
ingabetterforest.com) is a new effort
summer.
championed by resident Minneapolis
Replacement trees were planted this
foresters that is offering a free bever-
year, primarily during the month of
age and warm fuzzies in exchange for
Help us save paper and mailing
costs by joining our mailing list!
Please send an e-mail to:
friendsoflakenokomis@gmail.com
with the subject: Subscribe
Matthew Musich, President
Steffanie Musich, Vice President
Matthew Hinrichs, Treasurer
Jessica Calvin, Secretary
May. Ralph Sievert, director of
Chad Calvin
the MPRB’s Forestry depart-
Doc Czypinski
ment, described the re-
Chad Fitterer
planting as follows:
help watering newly planted trees.
This year the MPRB will be
planting 8,500 new trees
with a significant portion
“Our plan is to replant
of those being boulevard
Carolyn Gronfield
each tree that was re-
trees. Trees younger
Sarah Hinrichs
moved unless there
than five years old need
are site/environmental
constraints that prevent
This newsletter was sponsored by our
founding members—thank you all for
joining us!
If you would like to sponsor a future
newsletter please contact us via
e-mail.
Friends of Lake Nokomis is the official
publication of the Friends of Lake
Nokomis, a nonprofit corporation,
and is published four times a year.
us from doing so. The new
one inch of rainfall each
week to stay healthy. If
there is not enough rain, you
trees will be composed of nearly 30
should water your trees, including any
different genera, many of which do
you have adopted through the
well in wet sites. Some of those that
Brewing a Better Forest program ; ).
tolerate wet conditions include Larch,
A proper watering involves slowly
Elms, Planetrees, River Birch,
pouring at least four five-gallon
Baldcypress, Alder, Bicolor Oak,
buckets of water over the tree roots,
Aspen / Poplars & Honeylocusts.”
or putting a hose under the tree and
Some of you may have noticed that
letting it run gently for one hour.
trees in this list are the same trees
Logo design by Doc Czypinski
that died during last year’s lengthy
flooding event. Trees that tolerate
Newsletter design by
Kirsten Uhlenberg
wet conditions will still succumb to
flooding if these trees do not experience extreme moisture during their
2
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The Nokomis Hiawatha Master Plan
The trail connects people from
lifeguard stands instead of two to al-
was unanimously approved by the
Minneapolis to Bloomington and will
low for an expanded swimming area
Minneapolis Park and Recreation
be maintained by the Three Rivers
and a new concrete ramp to allow for
Board early this year. The implemen-
Park District.
greater accessibility to the beach and
tation period has begun in earnest
with three projects identified in the
plan getting underway this Spring!
54th Street Playground
(“Triangle Park Playground”)
some of the swings for individuals
with mobility issues. There is also a
sand/water wheelchair on order for
The projects highlighted here are part
The playground located at 54th Street
park patrons to use for transferring
of Phase 1 improvements; Phase 2
and Edgewater Boulevard is being
into the water. Interested parties
will begin this Fall and when we have
removed and reconstructed—includ-
should ask the lifeguards in the bath-
more details about the work that
ing the trails—beginning any day now
house building for use of the chair. In
will be done, we’ll be sure to share
and will be complete sometime this
other exciting news, a new drinking
that information with you. You may
fall, weather permitting. A drinking
fountain by the building will be in-
have seen heavy equipment in the
foundation and satellite toilet are also
stalled this summer!!!
park in early May, as geotechnical
being installed in this location. The
engineering work was completed
Hale Page Diamond Lake (HDPL)
to help plan trail improvements.
neighborhood association will be
The drinking fountain that has been
purchased looks like this and can accommodate ambulatory,
kicking off fundraising efforts for the
Three Rivers Park District
InterCity Regional Trail
you’re interested in helping with that
The Three Rivers Park District is ex-
effort, let them know!
panding their InterCity Regional Trail
wheeled and four-
picnic shelter at this location soon. If
legged park visitors.
We have not received
an estimate on when it
will be installed, so until you
to connect to the Grand Rounds trail
Main Beach Improvements
network at the south end of Lake
The main beach is expanding to the
Nokomis at the intersection of Cedar
north, allowing for the relocation of
Avenue and West Lake Nokomis Park-
Wheel Fun Rentals as identified in the
way. This is an off-street trail segment
master plan and the expansion of the
Canoe/Kayak Launch at North
End of Lake
through Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional
swimming beach. (See illustration on
Last year’s floods wiped out the
Park, a few blocks of the neighbor-
page 4.) Construction in this location
canoe/kayak launch near Sandcastle.
hood and Edward C. Solomon Park.
is underway. There will be three
see it at the beach, continue
to plan on bringing water with you.
continued on page 4
Minneapolis segment of Cedar Avenue
Triangle Park Playground
3
continued from page 3
Rather than rebuilding it in that loca-
Canoe and kayak launch location
Main Beach improvements
tion, it is being rebuilt at the location
identified in the Master Plan. The
rental racks are also being relocated
to the north end of the lake, south of
the recreation center. This change is
taking place sometime this summer,
with the old racks being removed
after people have had a chance to
relocate their watercraft to the
new racks.
Funding from the Clean Water Land
native plantings along alleyways as
Alleys around Lake Nokomis over
& Legacy Fund and local government
part of a cost share program.
the next 3 years.
supports Lake Nokomis Blooming
Last year, Metro Blooms worked
Check out the demonstration
Alleys project
with residents on a block to the
Blooming Alley between 50th and
Lake Nokomis Neighbors for Clean
west of Lake Nokomis to install the
51st Streets and 16th and 17th
Water is a community-driven proj-
first Blooming Alley for Clean Water
Avenues to see what your alley
ect to improve the quality of water
in Minneapolis. Leveraging this
could look like. We’ll be hosting a
in Lake Nokomis and create native
demonstration project, Metro
number of Alley Get-Togethers
habitat by transforming alleyways
Blooms, in partnership with the City
around Lake Nokomis this spring for
into pedestrian-friendly community
of Minneapolis and Minnehaha
blocks that have expressed interest.
spaces with an ecological function.
Creek Watershed District, applied
If you’re interested in getting your
The project engages local residents
for and received Clean Water fund-
block involved in the project, con-
to install practices such as rain gar-
ing to install 15 more Blooming
tact laura@metroblooms.org.
dens, permeable pavement, and
Permeable pavement and raingarden project from
demonstration alleyway
Artistic rendering of Blooming Alley
4
Earth Day Volunteers Cleaned Up!
5
continued from page 1
the impacts on the birds them-
cause unnecessary stress. This
selves. Feeding bread, crackers,
stress can weaken the birds and
cause them to be more susceptible
to disease. The competition for
•
•
popcorn, fries and other foods
high in starch and low in nutritional quality can lead to disease and
malnutrition in wild birds as they
food provided by park visitors
causes the birds to become ag-
•
will stop eating their natural diet of
gressive and unafraid of people,
•
worms, insects, seeds and small
plants. Artificial feeding may allow
causing conflict between park
users and the birds. Last summer,
contribute to this problem by
frail birds to survive, reproduce,
several users contacted the MPRB
feeding the ducks.
and diminish the species as a
to report ducks attacking their
children on the beach while they
were eating snacks. Do not
If the environmental and human
comfort impacts are not enough to
whole as they do not need to be
able to find their own nourishment.
convince you to not feed the
Please don’t feed the ducks and
waterfowl in the park, let me share
ask others to do the same!