The City of Cottage Grove closed online public engagement over the Mississippi Dunes Master Plan on Oct. 15. From that date and through Nov. 1, the city is revising the plan using the received feedback. Although the platform where one could comment on their projections for riverfront land is down, opportunities for the public to elevate their voices are approaching. ching.

The Journal has been continuously covering the Mississippi Dunes Master Plan and its implications. New researchers may require some catching-up.

Located on the Mississippi River’s shore is a privately owned, 196-acre, rural residential (R1) zone. It was once a golf course. Now, the city has “identified this parcel of land as a key component to achieving its strategic plan initiative to improve public access to the Mississippi River.” This is according to the city’s interactive website entitled, “Mississippi Dunes Master Planning.” One can access it by navigating to https://gis.isginc.com/storymaps/ MississippiDunesMasterPlan/ . Of the expanse, the city aims to develop 33 acres into a riverfront park. A few of its features would be native landscape restoration, a playground, a four-season building, a dock, and a picnic place. The master plan also consists of expanding the Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) by 12 acres and installing 1.5 miles of trails and greenway. Finally, creating 90 acres of medium-density housing in the Mississippi Dunes is suggested. 260 lots of single- family homes would sandwich the park with the river.

In a Zoom call with The Journal, Colleen O’Connor Toberman asserted that if approved, the master plan would impact the environment. For over two years, she has been a Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) employee. FMR is an organization that ‘’engages people to protect, restore and enhance the Mississippi River and its watershed in the Twin Cities region.’’ This is the mission that is pasted on their official website.

For much time, FMR has been pressing for the Mississippi Dunes region to become a natural park. When the city began planning for a residential development with some preserved space, O’Connor Toberman stepped in. ‘’So, my role [with] FMR is to work with community members, to engage in policy and advocacy…in local government…’’ the river corridor director defined. ‘’So that’s why I am involved with FMR in this project…’’

One effect of the master plan, based on her words, would be habitat loss. Homes for local species are already “under threat.” O’Connor Toberman proceeded, “We’ve lost 99 percent of grassland habitat in Minnesota and we have a lot of animal species that have experienced huge population collapses because of that…”

The Mississippi Dunes is “important“ for providing animals with shelter. The native landscape of the Mississippi Dunes region is indicated by “The Natural Vegetation of Minnesota at the Time of Public Survey: 1847-1907” map. It was assembled in 1930 by the U.S. General Land Office Survey Notes. The U.S. Forest Service published it in 1974. It reveals that prior to cultivation, the Mississippi Dunes, was solely prairie, oak woodland, and oak brushland. These biomes host birds and pollinators. On top of that, the Mississippi Dunes is immediately west of “a big piece of habitat.“ This is how O’Connor Toberman referred to the SNA. After proving that the region is significant, O’Connor Toberman wrapped up: “When it comes to habitat, we know when we develop open space, and how harmful that is to a lot of different species-and ultimately to ourselves.”

Next, a development on the Mississippi Dunes would disrupt a bird migration route. Audubon Minnesota terms the expanse an “Important Bird Area;“ IBA for short. They elaborate on their official website: “This IBA includes…floodplain forest and uplands extending for 38 river miles from Minneapolis to Hastings. It is situated along the migratory corridor for 40% of North America’s waterfowl, and shorebirds, loons, cormorants, gulls, terns, herons, egrets, pelicans, coots, grebes, and other species can be found.”

Lastly, O’Connor Toberman claimed that, if approved, the Mississippi Dunes Master Plan would impact nearby humans. In November of 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis discovered that nature programming rose during the preceding year. “Inflation-adjusted (real) GDP for the outdoor recreation economy grew by 1.3 percent in 2019, compared with 2.2 percent growth of the overall U.S. economy,“ they stated. “Real gross output for the outdoor recreation economy increased by 1.4 percent, while outdoor recreation compensation increased 3.9 percent and employment increased 0.4 percent…”

The proposed riverfront park could dissatisfy the demand for outdoor recreation. It is 33 acres in area. O’Connor Toberman believed, “It’s not the kind of park that’s big enough that you’re likely to make it a destination.”

Minimizing the already limited amount of open space would be man-made features. These include a 4,000 square foot four-season building, a 6,000 square foot nature-based playground, and two parking lots: one with 40 stalls for vehicles; one with 15 stalls for trailers. A stormwater management pond would exist in the 33 acres, too. O’Connor Toberman challenged that proposal. “…I don’t think that the park should serve the responsibility of cleaning the stormwater for all of the houses. We shouldn’t lose park space to deal with the negative impacts of housing,“ she insisted. O’Connor Toberman was unable to define more problems that the master plan would bring about. For example, questions surrounding the stability of Mississippi Dunes soil remain. It is unclear how strong of a foundation the new homes would cling to. Unknown impacts are a “concern” for the FMR. “So, there are a few things that are kind of obvious about environmental impacts and a few things that need more study,” O’Connor Toberman concluded.

On Sept. 28, community members and city officials gathered at Hamlet Park to discuss the Mississippi Dunes Master Plan. The Journal’s Joseph Back reported on the event. O’Connor Toberman was in attendance. She called on the city to “explore ways to slow the process down, to consider a wider range of possibilities for preserving parkland, and reducing the environmental impacts of development.”

In regards to reducing environmental impacts, the FMR is urging the city to buy some of the Mississippi Dunes. O’Connor Toberman detailed, “I think that they have more authority than they want to use…The land is privately owned. We’re not ever saying that they should take private property…but the city can buy it…Friends of the Mississippi River really wants to help them fund that. So, they can give that private owner a fair price for fair market value, for the property, and preserve that land for public use.”

For lengthening the planning progress, O’Connor Toberman suggested that the city host more learning opportunities: “There are several planning steps that the city is going to go through now…cities have the ability to take more time in planning process and say, ‘We really want to hear more from community members, we want to host more meetings and open houses. We want more time to talk to funds to help us pay for parkland…and see…how much money we have available…” “They seem to feel that there’s a little bit of a rush to get this planning process done and that’s not true,” finished O’Connor Toberman.

Two meetings in November will continue this planning process. On Nov. 8, the Parks Commission Review will take place at City Hall. It will initiate at 7 p.m. On Nov. 22, the Planning Commission Review will occur at the same time and location. December 1 is the date in which the City Council will approve or deny pitches for the Mississippi Dunes. O’Connor Toberman told The Journal that the public may engage at all three meetings. Advocates can speak for up to two or three minutes. They also have the option of emailing local officials. Their contact information follows: Mayor Myron Bailey: [email protected] gov Council Member Steve Dennis: [email protected] Council Member La Rae Mills: [email protected] gov Council Member Justin Olsen: [email protected] gov Council Member Dave Thiede: [email protected] com O’Connor Toberman encourages residents to deliver both speeches and emails. “I wouldn’t want residents to feel intimidated about participating in government… You don’t have to be fancy, you don’t have to be perfectly informed you don’t have to be perfectly polished. Just come and speak your mind as a community member…”

Perhaps readers are hesitant to voice their ideas, unconvinced that they will be heard. O’Connor Toberman reassured, “I would say that the mayor, the council, the staff have taken this project and this situation really seriously. They’ve given it a lot of time and attention. Meetings related to Mississippi Dunes-several council members were there, the mayor’s usually there…they understand, I think, the significance and the seriousness, just how big of a deal Mississippi Dunes is.”

“You know that said,” she countered, “after years of working with the hope of having a really big park there, FMR and the city still don’t…agree [on] what should be prioritized on the site and how much public space there should be on the site…I think it’s very likely that the ultimate outcome for the site will include housing. FMR wanted to see the entire site be a park at the beginning, but that doesn’t seem likely anymore. We still hope to see, still, a much bigger city park than what is in the current master plan.”

Likewise, those desiring to save the Mississippi Dunes are clinging to hope.