DNR to restore natural plant community along Paul Bunyan State Trail

[HD]

DNR to restore natural plant community along Paul Bunyan State Trail
(Released October 28, 2010)


A Legacy-funded project that will restore native plants and help ensure safety along the Paul Bunyan State Trail between Pine River and Backus began Monday, Oct. 18, and will continue through the first week in November, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The trail will remain open while this work is being done, but trail users should exercise caution around the crews and their equipment.

The goal of the project is to restore a dry oak-aspen-pine woodland plant community by reducing the density of existing jack pine and aspen in some areas.

“This central Minnesota plant community is dependent on disturbance, so tools like cutting - and possibly prescribed burning in the future - are used to restore and maintain the diversity and integrity of the plant community,” said Angela Anderson, resource specialist for the DNR’s Division of Parks and Trails.

The project will also help to ensure safe conditions along the trail. Trees will be trimmed at intersections with highways and driveways to maintain visibility and safety for all trail users. Balsam poplar will be cut because their roots can lift and crack the asphalt trail, creating a safety hazard, especially for inline skaters.

Funding provided by the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment made it possible to start this project on the Paul Bunyan State State Trail, which is paved for more than 100 miles between Brainerd and Bemidji and still has good quality native plant communities within its right-of-way, Anderson said.

Conservation Corps Minnesota (CCM) is doing the work under the supervision of the Northwest Region Natural Resources Management Program. Crews will work their way south along a nine-mile segment of the Paul Bunyan State Trail, starting in Backus.

For more information, call the DNR Information Center at 651-296-6157 or toll-free 888-646-6367 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.