Houlton Farm Planning Committee Meeting 2015-04-27

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-Houlton Farm Planning Committee Draft Minutes March 30, 2015 Present: Chair Wilson, Members Olsen, Anderson, Seeger, Benkofstke, Hecker Other in attendance, Tim Marion from MN DNR, Fred Bengtson MN DNR Area Wildlife Manager and responsible for Sherburne County and Bob McGillivray from the Trust for Public Land Wilson called the meeting to order at 5:35 pm The minutes from the February 23 meeting were reviewed. Agenda item 4.1 Presentation by DNR on Draft Hunting Plan Marion and Bengtson proposed a draft hunting plan with bullet points that they prepared for the Committee. A map with a sheet of guidelines was handed out. Fred explained that the Houlton farm property is under his jurisdiction. The hunting plan suggests the entire property would be open to archery hunting and the area along the Mississippi River would be open to shotgun hunting. Discussion occurred to consider not allowing shotguns to be used on the western most and eastern most points since they abut against homes on the west and Bailey Point on the east. Both Marion and Bengston explained that the DNR will work with the committee and city on an approved hunting plan. The DNR Commissioner makes the final decision on the plan. It was recommended no motorized vehicles, and no horse trails. Dogs could become an issue and it was recommended that they be on a leash. The area should be closed to trapping. It was discussed that the road to access the primitive boat dock could be a problem during the hunting season. Committee members discussed taking out the road and boat access. It was discussed that a boat launch could be located up stream on the Elk River near the parking lot. It was discussed that the parking lot should be a primitive one with no pavement and no curb and gutter. The city should provide a parking lot area large enough to allow 12 spaces and then after that lot is full any other hunters will have to wait for a space to open up. The Plan should be sensitive to where the property is located within close proximity of neighborhoods and new Elk River's downtown. This could be a showcase for other cities in MN. It was discussed that the Plan will be recommended by the Committee and provided to City Council as a work session before submitting it to the DNR for approval. The City Council will approve the plan after it is approved by the DNR N:\Departments\Parks and Recreation\Parks\Houlton Property Elk River Nature Preserve\Coimnittee Agendas- Packets\Minutes\Minutes 3-30-15.docx