9.C.1. PRSR 02-11-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Freitag Property Biological Survey Hastings, MN Bio/ogica/ Ecologica/ly S Survey Enables ound Site Selection The City of Hastings is an attractive, historic community on the Mississippi River that is growing steadily. In searching for a for a new wastewater treatment facility ro serve its growing population, the City, along with the Metropolitan Council, came up with ashort-list of four sites that included the 300-acre Freitag property. As a stakeholder in the planning effort, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources voiced concern on the unknown impact of an S- to 10-acre facility and associated access/utility corridors on habitat and wildlife populations at the undeveloped site. Since the Freitag property supports some high quality natural communities and is one of the few upland refuges in an extensive floodplain system, the MN DNR requested a biological survey of the property. The Metropolitan Council contracted with Bonestroo's Natural Resources Group in the summer of 2002 to complete the work. The biological survey included a floristic survey, plant community assessment, and herpetological, small mammal, bat, and breeding bird surveys. Bonestroo's in-house technical expertise, teamed with a mammologist from the University of Minnesota, resulted in the collection of the best possible data set. The project report was delivered in late July 2002, providing the City, MN DNR, and the Metropolitan Council with the accurate and complete information they needed to make an ecologically sound decision on whether the Freitag property would be an appropriate site for the new wastewater treatment plant. Both the MN DNR and the Metropolitan Council have held Bonestroo's biological survey of the Freitag property up as an example of how solid scientific data can contribute to sound planning for natural resources. Bonestroo o Rosene Anderlik & Associates Engineers & Architects