Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Still Ponds topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cottage Grove commission approves Still Ponds natural resources plan with two amendments
Summary
The Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission approved a phased habitat restoration plan for Still Ponds Park, directing staff to note that no conservation easement currently exists and to correct minor factual errors. The plan outlines costs, phased restoration and long-term management.
The Cottage Grove Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission voted to approve the Still Ponds Natural Resources Management Plan after staff described a phased habitat-restoration approach for the park acquired in 2022.
Staff member Zach presented the plan, saying it documents the site's history, restoration goals, estimated costs and a long-term management schedule and that the mid-century red pine plantation on site is degraded and should be removed over time to restore diverse habitat. "We established the natural resource management plan so that we can collectively show what that space will look like after a full habitat restoration," Zach said.
Commissioners raised factual and scope questions before approving the plan. One commissioner pointed out a population figure in the report that staff agreed to amend. Commissioner Olsen noted the report's assertion that a conservation easement exists on the property; staff confirmed there is no conservation easement and recommended amending the plan to state that explicitly. The commission approved the plan with those two exceptions.
The plan calls for phased removal of invasive understory, targeted removal of failing red pines, and longer-term replanting and maintenance activities. Staff indicated cost estimates and activity phasing are detailed in the plan's budget tables and task-level pages and that those numbers should be read cumulatively across the management units when planning year-one expenses.
Next steps include the staff-led edits requested by the commission and implementation of the phased management tasks set out in the plan. No formal timeline for the full habitat restoration beyond the phased approach in the plan was adopted at the meeting.
