Chub Lake Wildlife Management Area
STATUS: ENDANGERED
Map to Chub Lake
Surrounded by farms, woods, and wetlands, Chub Lake in southwestern Dakota County is a place where people enjoy the feeling of a quiet rural retreat. The oak forest and wet meadows along its shores have changed little in the centuries since the last glaciers retreated from the area. In one of the fastest-growing counties in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, this largely undeveloped natural area is a special place.
In May of 2000, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) acquired 192 acres at the southern end of the lake, including 80 acres of forest, 45 acres of wetlands, and 53 acres of farm fields. The Chub Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA) was dedicated on July 15, 2000. However, no sooner was the area protected from housing development than it was threatened by a quarry that could lower the lake level and dry the wetlands.
photo: Chris Robbins
HOW TO GET TO CHUB LAKE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA
Chub Lake is located in Dakota County, in the southern Twin Cities metro area. It lies east of I-35, west of County Road 23, and north of County Road 86. From County Road 86, go north on Grenada Avenue. Watch for signs and a small parking area on your right.
WHAT YOU CAN DO AT CHUB LAKE WMA
WMAs are managed for wildlife production and are open to public hunting and wildlife watching. There is little or no development of facilities such as picnic shelters and paved parking lots at WMAs. Chub Lake is a popular place for hunting turkey, deer, squirrels, and ducks. If you want to hike there during hunting season, it is recommended that you wear blaze orange. Hunting seasons are posted on the DNR website: www.dnr.state.mn.us.
DESCRIPTION
Chub Lake is at the northern boundary of the Cannon River Watershed. It is the headwaters of Chub Creek, which joins the Cannon River at Randolph. Although only ten feet deep, Chub Lake's water quality is high due to the shoreline's steep vegetated slopes and minimal development.
The oak forest and wetlands on the lake and along Chub Creek are high-quality natural communities. This designation, given by the DNR's MN County Biological Survey, applies to only 2.6 percent of the land in Dakota County. The forest is healthy and diverse, with many kinds of native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. The wetlands have areas of wet meadow, marsh, and willow swamp, and include wild rice among the many native plants that grow there. The DNR has restored the former fields to native prairie and planted over 200 acorns to restore the oak forest.
Many kinds of birds and other animals use the forests, grasslands, and wetlands of Chub Lake. The Blanding's turtle, a threatened species recognized by its yellow throat and the yellow spots on its shell, makes its home in wetlands and grasslands around the lake. Wild turkeys, released here in 1993, live in the oak forest. Songbirds that migrate to South and Central America each winter use the forest in spring, summer, and fall. Waterfowl such as wood ducks and blue-winged teal can be seen on the lake and in the wetlands. Chub Lake has long been recognized as a significant natural area in Dakota County. The site was considered for an 800-acre county park in the early 1970s, before the northern and eastern portions of the lakeshore were converted to agricultural and low-density residential uses.
THREAT AND RESPONSE
Native trees and shrubs
line the road to the park
This land really has two stories of threat and response. The first threat came in the late 1990s when the owner, who had managed the land well, died and the land became part of an estate to be divided among seven adult children. Developing or selling the land was the only way all the heirs could share in its value. Township zoning allowed five houses to be built on the site, and they could be spread out or clustered in any way feasible. Clustering houses outside of natural areas can be a good way to maintain environmental quality, but the developer preferred to cluster them in the natural area, to provide a wooded setting and a view to the lake. The Eureka Town Board was concerned about this potential damage to the forest and wetlands, and about the odd-shaped lots that would be needed to provide access to a public road. Another proposal was to build a golf course on the site.
Meanwhile neighbors, DNR staff, the Cannon River Watershed Partnership, and the Conservation Fund tried to find a way to protect the area. They formed the Chub Lake Greenway Committee in 1998 and began raising money and enlisting the support of local politicians. The group received $600,000 from the Metro Greenways Funds and $75,000 from SEP (money that the Pollution Control Agency collected in fines from Koch Refinery), as well as funding from a special legislative appropriation, Dakota County, Re-invest In Minnesota, Ducks Unlimited, Eureka Township, the National Wild Turkey Federation, and private individuals. As a result, the DNR was able to buy the land from the family.
No sooner was the land in the process of being purchased for conservation than Edward Kraemer & Sons proposed a 413- acre limestone and dolomite quarry in Waterford Township, approximately seven miles away, that would reach a maximum depth of 190 feet in one hundred years. To keep the quarry dry, the mining company would have to pump water out of the ground, lowering the water table for miles around and eroding nearby streams into which the water would be pumped. A preliminary DNR report estimated that the quarries could dewater approximately 40 miles of streams and 65 square miles of wetlands (Chub Lake among them), reduce the base flow along six miles of the Cannon River, and lower water levels in 115 domestic and municipal wells.
A second quarry was proposed for Douglas Township, north of Cannon Falls. Different citizens' groups formed in each place to oppose the quarries. As a result of citizens' concerns for water resources and agricultural land, both Waterford and Douglas townships adopted comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances that prohibit mining below the water table and restrict how many acres can be open at one time. The Waterford Township quarry proposal is on hold for the moment while the Kraemer company pursues the Douglas Township project. An environmental impact statement for the Douglas Township quarry was being prepared in fall 2003. As required by township zoning, it would not disturb the groundwater and the land would be reclaimed in sections as it is mined. Surface water resources could still be affected by runoff from gravel washing.
CURRENT SITUATION
The Chub Lake WMA is protected from development and from dewatering as long as the current laws and ordinances remain in effect.
Chub Lake Wildlife Management Area
is open to public hunting and wildlife
watching
Currently there are no state laws regulating aggregate mining; it is regulated at the local level. The state does require local governments to map aggregate resources when doing their comprehensive land use plans. In 1998, the legislature appointed an Aggregate Resources Task Force, which made several recommendations for consistent statewide standards to make aggregate more available. One proposal was that aggregate deposits could be registered with the state for a period of ten years, during which time the zoning could not be changed to prohibit mining. This proposal was partly in reaction to sprawling development that covers over aggregate deposits before they are mined — a legitimate concern. But protection of water resources was not sufficiently addressed. In 2001, the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources authorized a study of the impact of quarries on groundwater. That study is due to be completed in June 2005, when legislation will probably be introduced to respond to its findings.
IF YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED
Look at the Comprehensive Plan for your local county, city, or township. Are any aggregate resources shown? Do they have adequate regulations on where and how mining can occur?
CONTACTS
Elaine Dack
Protect our Water and Environmental Resources (POWER)
Citizens' group in Waterford Township
507-645-5068
Jeff Green
DNR Regional Groundwater Specialist
Rochester
507-285-7429