La Crescent's Vetsch Park is one of two bluff parks that are in the city. There has been alot happening in the Stoney Point section of this park this past fall and winter. Anyone who has been up North 1st St has seen the remarkable cleared area. Here's the story.
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| Top - Stoney Point before forest mowing Jason Ludwigson Bottom - Stoney after forest mowing - Olivia Schmidt - HometownArgus.com |
The city and its Natural Resources Advisory Group (I am currently a member) spent considerable time over the past two years removing woody invasives like buckthorn and roundleaf bittersweet from some of the upper slopes of Stoney.
But those tangled lower slopes….
We worked with a MN DNR Forester who walked the woods and evaluated it to see how the city could best manage these invasive that literally had taken over the lower slopes of Stoney. Brush, invasives, undesirable hardwoods left a tangled mess. Our forester suggested forest mowing.
The city wrote a MN DNR Conservation Partners Legacy Grant to fund forest mowing by a contractor beginning in fall of 2024. Before the mowing, city staff walked the land and marked healthy native trees that should remain. The snowless early winter allowed the contractor to complete the mowing of the lower slopes. Large trees were removed and the woody remains of the brush became mulch.
The before and after picture above shows the difference.
The city did a great job of keeping the public informed before starting the process with public meetings, signage at the park and around the city and information on their website. They plan to continue updating the page during the process. You can read about it at their webpage and FAQ page. For those wanting a deeper dive, you can access a series of slides showing the work progress for the first phase of forest marking and mowing as of February 19, 2025. This slide set will be updated as the forest reforestation continues.
This three year project includes handcutting and localized herbicide treatment to treat regrowth in the spring and fall of 2025 and 2026 followed by native hardwood plantings in 2026 to complete the restoration project.
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| Mowed on the left; unmowed on the right Image - Marge Loch-Wouters |
When I walked the mowed area, it was astonishing to see the difference. I'm proud to be a La Crescent resident when I see this work of caring for this wonderful natural resource. It will be fun to watch the coming changes - and help plant the trees!
The Caledonia Argus newspaper published a great article explaining the project. Restoring Stoney Point: La Crescent’s effort to revive native forests | Local News | hometownsource.com
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