9,000 acres in Dakota County a "paradise" for recreation, research, and residents

An almost 14-square-mile area in Dakota County could become a "paradise" for various users and nature itself, the Pioneer-Press recently reported. Of special interest to FMR members is a part of the land use plan that would set aside portions for recreation and habitat protection, including:

• 2,834 acres on the eastern edge of Empire Township which will be known as Vermillion Highlands -- a research, recreation and wildlife-management area owned by the University of Minnesota and co-managed by the state Department of Natural Resources. Traversing Vermillion Highlands is Lone Rock Trail -- 10 miles of walking, equestrian and ski trails leading to the centrally located Lone Rock.
• 816 acres of woods, hills, fields, and wetlands surrounding a small lake. The northernmost 460 acres will become the new Empire Wetlands Regional Park. About 100 acres are wetlands. A long-term goal calls for walking trails snaking from Farmington through the park and south to the Vermillion River.
• 835 acres split between a public hunting ground and a wildlife conservation area owned and managed by the DNR. A mile of the Vermillion River flows through the site, curving along a scenic knoll.
• 455 acres surrounding a wastewater treatment plant owned by the Metropolitan Council on the Vermillion River. Just to the east, the DNR is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to add bends to portions of the Vermillion River that had previously been straightened, increasing fish habitat by slowing the river's speed. Brown trout have been known to grow to more than 20 inches in length in the stream.

FMR developed and implemented a natural resource management plan for the Empire wastewater treatment plant. We conducted exotic invasive plant removal, a 50-acre wet prairie/meadow restoration, enhancement of prairie and stream bank stabilization activities, the last of these in partnership with the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District.