News & Current Projects

In the News < back

Nature Center gains momentum
- But there's much work to be done -

Crookston Daily Times
Written By: Natalie J. Ostgaard, City Editor

October 20, 2005 - A regional nature/visitor center located in Crookston still has a long way to go before becoming a reality, but an input session held Wednesday night a City Hall demonstrated that, with enough support and a solid plan, it could happen in the not-so-distant future.

"You're looking at something real special here," said Len Price, executive director of the Minnesota Civilian Conservation Corps at the end of the evening. "There are so many exciting possibilities here that you can do so much with."

Price was talking not only from the standpoint of a professional in the area of nature but also a 20-year veteran of the state legislature. He said he saw many proposals come and go during that time, some of them very good but lacking a "hook" to reel lawmakers into funding the project.

"You do have that hook - to fill the need of a regional hub - now go and sell it," he exclaimed.

A "loose working group," as City Administrator Aaron Parrish described it, has been tossing ideas around over the last year and a half and moving toward developing the project. Dan Svedarsky, head of the Natural Resources Department at the University of Minnesota Crookston has been coordinating the efforts.

"This was much different when first started talking about it," Parrish explained. "Our primary focus was a bird observatory. Then different elements kept getting added and it evolved into this."

Heidi Hughes, formerly with the Nature Northwest project as UMC, "kick started" the project and "then we just ran with it," he said.

The Center for Changing Landscapes at the University of Minnesota was commissioned to study the feasibility of the project for approximately $30,000 with funding from the Northwest Minnesota Foundation, the City of Crookston, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Crookston Development Authority and the Northwest Minnesota Sustainability Partnership. Carlos "C.J" Fernandez and Mary Vogel from the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture presented their findings thus far and discussed pertinent issues with those attending the session.

"There is value in thinking big," Svedarsky noted as he introduced the discussion.

Two sites
While stressing that the project is still very much in the early planning stages, Fernandez said two potential sites have been identified: Approximately 56 acres adjacent to the Polk County Museum that includes the former Sweetheart bakery outlet building (or "the bread store" as many meeting attendees called it); and about 156 acres owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph, including the Marywood, located approximately two miles east of Crookston on Highway 2.

"These are two very different sites," he explained. "There are similarities, though, such as both being near the river and Highway 2."

When looking at different sites, Parrish added, the working group considered two things: proximity to Highway 2 and natural resources available.

The study determined six general sides in planning for the project, Fernandez pointed out. Trailhead connectiveness, river use, educational use, office use, design potential and visitor center/interpretive center are important elements to consider. Other characteristics that fall under one of these categories include potential partners, outdoor space use, nature restoration, historical aspects, physical space use, and parking for vehicles and buses.

"Some of these things would be great for one site, some for the other," he said. "For example, the area with the bread store is probably less buildable than Marywood. That already has a large facility that's basically ready to go."

Approximately 75 acres of the Marywood property are currently leased out for farming. That still leaves dozens of acres of nature - including the rich "oxbow" area of the Red Lake River - to deal with. and with a nearly 500,000 square-foot building that was updated only five years ago, the possibilities are seemingly endless.

The museum property has its advantages as well. As Tom Vedbratten, city council member, pointed out, "if only one site can be chosen, I'd go for that because it's near everything - the Sugarbeet Museum, Historical Society, Memorial Walkway - plus it's in the city."

'Crown Jewel'
Although one clear vision for the center has yet to be determined, it's purpose as a regional hub for other nature activities in northwest Minnesota is. Crookston's location along Highways 2 and 75 makes it part of the Prairie Passage Route and the historic King of Trails scenic highway, Svedarsky points out.

"We're surrounded by nature here, and that's a big thing," he said, citing National Wildlife Refuges such as Glacial Ridge, Rydell and Agassiz within an hour's drive. "There are alot of opportunities here."

"So you're saying because nature is so prevalent, this is the crown jewel jewel, so to speak," Vogel remarked.

The region lacks focus for people to interpret nature, said Parrish noted, which this project could do by providing infrastructure and more educational opportunities. "It would point people in the right direction."

The current working title Northern Prairie Nature Conservation Center, will most likely change, Svedarsky said. But the name must reflect the fact that it is a regional, not localized hub.

"As a tourist driving across Highway 2, I personally would stop at a visitor center over a nature center," said Rolf Hagberg, development director of MCC. "This seems more like a place to learn about things in the area ... So I would think you'd want to be clear what you name it, why, and what your goal is. A nature center, to me, seems like more of a destination, whereas a visitor center is somewhere to stop for a couple of hours."

Dave Bennet, acting director of Rydell and Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuges, voiced concern that, from a local standpoint, there could be a saturation of natural resource opportunities. Vogel assured him this wouldn't likely happen.

"People don't want to live in a community where there's nothing to do," she said. "This will show them where they can go to find things to do."

Price added that the current trend statewide is to develop trail systems.

"It's like when they built the railroads," he explained. "People came from all around. I see the same here. Build the trails and they will come. It's an exciting potential for this area and I see it flourishing."

Meeting tonight
Those attending the session where reminded that the public is invited to an open house beginning at 7 p.m. this evening (Thursday) at the Red Lake Falls Community Hall sponsored by the Red Lake River Corridor Joint Powers Board to celebrate the end of the first phase of that project - pinpointing needs and developing designs - and to kick off the second phase - securing funds. Vogel and Fernandez also worked with that project, which Fernandez said is "kind of a natural fit" with the nature/visitor center proposal.

"This is a tool to make those things happen," he said.

If all goes well this evening, RLRC board member Keith Mykleseth said, "we'll be pitching a bonding proposal to at least a couple of legislators."