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Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 2 <br />December 8, 2021 <br />----------------------------- <br /> <br />7.1 Buckthorn Removal <br /> <br />Mr. Hecker presented the staff report. He asked Mr. Sevcik to attend the meeting to <br />help answer questions since he has a background in natural resources and buckthorn <br />removal. <br /> <br />Chair Williams asked if Mr. Hecker was looking for feedback to share with the <br />council since they referred it back to us? <br /> <br />Mr. Hecker stated we didn’t have all the information from Friends of the Mississippi <br />River (FMR) that includes City properties William H Houlton Conservation Area <br />and Bailey Point Nature Preserve. He would like to recognize FMR at a future City <br />Council meeting for their partnership efforts. <br /> <br />Commissioner Anderson stated that the council has asked that we prioritize City <br />areas. He thinks prioritizing William H Houlton Conservation Area as 1 and Bailey <br />Point Nature Preserve as 2 because of the potential funding in place. Then it is up to <br />a discussion between staff and the commission as to what we would consider other <br />priorities realizing that we probably can’t get rid of buckthorn in every park. We <br />could prioritize Woodland Trails Regional Park as 3 and Hillside Park as 4, or they <br />could be equal priority. <br /> <br />Commissioner Anderson asked who the other partners would be. <br /> <br />Mr. Sevcik stated there are organizations that do different types of restoration grants. <br />Buckthorn is not something that is highly sought after. If we went to the DNR and <br />asked for $50,000 or $100,000 for buckthorn and we have $25,000 to match it, they <br />would mostly likely say no because they can spend their money on things of higher <br />priority. According to the US Department of Agriculture, buckthorn is fully <br />colonized in this area of the United States. Unless you can clear all the buckthorn of <br />the adjacent properties and beyond, you will always have a buckthorn issue. At the <br />Council discussion he was asked what level he thinks we need to fund, and he asked <br />the Council what level we are comfortable funding. It could be an open-ended check <br />book for generations to come if our goal is eradication, which is probably impossible <br />at this point. As far as priorities go, we looked at William H Houlton Conservation <br />Area and Bailey Point Nature Preserve being the two highest priorities. We have an <br />established partnership with Friends of the Mississippi River with $300,000 towards <br />buckthorn mitigation on those properties and are to the point where almost all of the <br />mature buckthorn has been removed. We’ve done full scale habitat restoration <br />largely funded by FMR through the Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council grants. <br />Other properties within the city wouldn’t qualify for Lessard Sams dollars because <br />they aren’t open to public hunting and fishing.