COUNTRY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
VOL. 34 NO. 8 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
STRAWBERRY ALMOND TART: The berry best of Midwest summers. PAGE 5
A river dweller’s rulebook BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
A goat nibbles some bark on a lakeside property in May Township. The goats had cleared the area of foliage and were about to be moved to a nearby location to continue grazing. Chuck Draheim hired the Munch Bunch to manage buckthorn on the land.
Prescribed grazing Goats manage buckthorn on sensitive property BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
The steep, wooded hills surrounding Chuck Draheim’s May Township home were thick with a buckthorn understory. Until the goats arrived in late May. In a matter of days the small herd of 10 adults and five kids cleared the notoriously invasive species from the sharp slopes that run down to a pristine, unnamed
lake. For people like Draheim, whose property also borders Long Lake, goats are an appealing solution to an otherwise overwhelming problem. “You can pull buckthorn and you can spray it,” Draheim said. “But this is so heavy, and because we’re so close to the lake — I only spot spray.” Draheim got to wondering whether there was a biological control for buckthorn after a meeting of the Long Lake Association. “We were talking about biological control of purple loosestrife,”
he said. “I thought, ‘Well, if you can do it with bugs maybe we can manage buckthorn with something else.’” When he got home he did an internet search for biological control of buckthorn and up popped “goats.” Draheim hired a St. Croix Falls outfit, the Munch Bunch, to unleash their goats near his home. And a week into their mission, the goats’ results were as clear as the disappearing understory. “The difference is night and
The St. Croix River Association has issued a guide for Minnesotans with property on the Lower St. Croix. “The Landowner’s Guide to the Lower St. Croix Riverway” is an effort to prevent frustration and wasted money or time on construction plans that cannot come to fruition along the federally designated Wild and Scenic River. “I’ve been going around the valley listening to zoning administrators, local governments, realtors, landowners,” Natalie Warren, the SCRA’s river corridor steward, told the Marine City Council earlier this month. “Everyone said there needs to be something that makes the regulations easier to understand and more accessible.” This is the answer to that request. The product of a 10-month collaboration between the river association, Department of Natural Resources, National Park Service, zoning administrators and realtors, the guide could have easily turned into a technical manual. Thankfully, it didn’t. “It’s essentially a children’s book for adults,” Warren joked. “We’ve illustrated every regulation so you can flip through it and more or less understand what the building restrictions are in the Lower St. Croix Riverway. But it also provides significance about the native habitat, water quality, why these regulations are here to g with.” begin
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Marine takes stride in GreenStep City program SUBMITTED
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
Marine on St. Croix has officially reached the third of five steps in the GreenStep Cities program. The League of Minnesota Cities recognized the accomplishment last week at an award ceremony in Rochester. Linda Tibbetts accepted the award on behalf of Marine. The GreenStep program helps cities move toward environmental sustainability by directing their efforts toward 29 “best practices” in areas from transportation to lighting to land
use. The practices can be tailored to cities small or large, with a focus on cost savings, reducing energy use and encouraging innovation. “The practices are really helpful,” said Anne Reich, who is leading the effort in Marine. “It’s a way for communities to document what they’re already doing and come up with ideas for possible things to do. … They have experts you can call for guidance (… providing) a support system for small cities without those types of people on their staff.” Since joining the program in December 2014, NEWS 651-433-3845 editor@countrymessenger.com
Reich and others have been busy documenting “green” changes spearheaded by Marine residents, officials and staff. The group has also collaborated with volunteers and city officials and staff to go after “low hanging fruit” — buying an energy-efficient furnace, shifting to LED lighting, framing a sustainable purchasing policy for the city. “In many ways (the City of Marine was) already doing these things, but now you can look and say these are our guidelines,” Reich said of the purchasing policy. For other projects, ADVERTISING 651-433-3845 sales@osceolasun.com
such as the recent Waste Wise project initiated by Dorothy Deetz, Reich described the GreenStep group as cheerleaders. “We try to initiate things and encourage things that are happening, but it’s not like we have to do it all,” she said. “It’s a way of documenting what’s being done. We’re not taking credit for all of this, although some of it we have had a hand in.” Led by the League of Minnesota Cities, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and other organizations, the voluntary
“The Landowner’s Guide to the Lower St. Croix Riverway” is an effort to prevent frustration and wasted money or time on construction plans that cannot come to fruition along the federally designated Wild and Scenic River.
The book doesn’t have all the answers, but it does let property owners know who to contact before planning any large-scale home improvement projects. “What we’ve seen is that landowners will spend a lot of time and money and submit a variance application without fully understanding what the building restrictions are,” Warren said. “At that point, not only have they spent time and money, but local governments might spend more time and money on revisions and consultants. We’re trying to encourage early communication.” The SCRA is also working with zoning administrators to outline best practices for local
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