5.7. SR 12-06-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 2 of 2 Walz has said. Operating the dam is "threatening our ability to do other things," Walz said. The board learned of the apron cracks on the same night it considered whether to replace the Eastman Nature Center at Elm Creek Park Reserve in Dayton and whether to improve the chalet and parking at the Hyland Ski and Snow board areas in Bloomington. Whether its recreational function merits continuing repair of the dam is a question the park district is looking to the DNR to address, Walz said. "This is a lake on one of their major rivers. It is probably beyond the call of the suburban Three Rivers Park District." DNR regional hydrologist Dale Homuth said, "We have no position on it. There are obviously hundreds of people who have lakeshore now and wouldn't have lakeshore if the dam were removed. It becomes political." Asked why Three Rivers is having such a hard time finding a new owner for the dam, Homuth said, "The term 'white elephant' comes to mind." The state could not take it over without special legislation, and the DNR, with an already tight budget, would not favor that, Homuth said. In general, said DNR hydrologist Judy Boudreau, "I don't know that we necessarily as a department or a division see a lot of value" in maintaining a dam for recreational purposes. "If you were to talk to our ecological resources, stream habitat people, they are tending toward dam removals. They love to see structure that helps promote spawning, but that dam does not allow for fish passage." The dam does, however, act as a barrier to invasive species along the Mississippi and would stop Asian carp if the species ever got that far, Homuth said. Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711 11/1/2010