Public invited to meeting concerning future of the St. Croix Boom Site

Via Friends of Washington County:

Public Meeting Concerning the Future of the St. Croix Boom Site
Wednesday, January 11, 2017, 7 p.m.
Water Street Inn, Stillwater, MN

In 2008, the St. Croix Boom Site was closed to the public. We organized public opinion in the St. Croix Valley and successfully prevailed on the State of Minnesota to reopen the site. It has remained open since then under the management of the Minnesota DNR.

This past year, improvements were made to the Boom Site by the DNR, MnDoT, Washington County, the National Park Service and the Friends of the St. Croix Boom Site. We were proud to hold multiple public participation meetings, which drew more than 100 participants, to obtain public input concerning potential improvements.

Coming out of those meetings, the Friends now have formulated a longer-term vision for the future of the St. Croix Boom Site. We look forward to presenting our recommendations to you, the public, on Wednesday night, January 11, 2017, at 7 p.m., at Water Street Inn in downtown Stillwater, MN. We hope to see you there.

Some of our recommendations include the following.

• We have made a formal request to Washington County to take over the ownership and management of the Boom Site. The County has received the request, and will consider whether to do so as a part of its Comprehensive Planning process during 2017.
• A trail connection from Brown’s Creek Trail in Stillwater to the Boom Site. Washington County has agreed to create a search area, the first step to identifying a potential right-of-way for this trail connection.
• A bathroom with running water at the wayside or picnic area, the largest and northernmost of the various segments of the Boom Site.
• A hiking/walking trail connection from the Boom Site near Highway 95, and running northward up to Fairy Falls.
• A labyrinth located in the Boom Site segment containing the historical marker.
• The removal of invasive species all along the bluffline to create a better visual connection to the Wild and Scenic St. Croix River.
• And more.

Again, we hope to see you on January 11 where you can learn more about the future potential of the St. Croix Boom Site, and we hope to hear your ideas as well.