Grey Cloud Island
STATUS: ENDANGERED
Map to Grey Cloud Island
River's Edge Development challenges the protections of the Critical Areas Act by seeking to amend the laws to get permission to build on the land. If the proposed development proceeds, it sets a precedent in permitting the development of sensitive river corridors.
HOW TO GET THERE
From Highway 61, take the St. Paul Park exit. At the top of the ramp, turn east and proceed to Broadway (stop sign). Turn right on Broadway and go to 3rd Street (flashing red light). Turn left and continue about two miles where 3rd Street changes into Grey Cloud Island Drive (at 14th Avenue). This is also County Road 75. You are now in Grey Cloud Township. Past a few houses, you will see open cornfields on the left and a couple of houses on the right. ThIS IS the land designated for the River's Edge development.
WHAT YOU CAN DO AT GREY CLOUD ISLAND
Many residents and visitors alike have enjoyed birding and hiking the public portion of the riverfront. Bicyclists enjoy riding on lightly traveled country roads. On Lower Grey Cloud Island, boaters used to have access to Grey Cloud Park. Currently, a closed down boat launch occupies the privately owned vacant land.
DESCRIPTION
The name Grey Cloud Island comes from the Dakota name MA-HPE-YAHO-TA, named after Grey Cloud Woman, a notable Dakota woman who lived in this area during the nineteenth century. Thousands of years of Ice Age accumulation pushed silt and sediment upwards from the Mississippi's banks. The result is the unique geological features of this area. Grey Cloud Channel divides Upper Grey Cloud Island and Lower Grey Cloud Island.
A view from the blufftops at Crystal Cove
photo: Courtesy of Friends of the
Mississippi River
Among the beautiful features of Upper Grey Cloud Island is the Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area, which was established in 1998. It boasts some of the area's rarest prairie with sand dunes rising out of the ground some 10 to 20 feet. Prairie species include little bluestem, penstemon, prairie drop seed, sand reed grass, grama grass, and silky prairie clover plants. Elm, silver maple, cottonwood, and box elder trees grow in abundance in this ecologically diverse area. One can find blue racers, a rare Minnesota snake, and prairie skinks.
Lower Grey Cloud Island contains the site of a historic Lime Kiln. Located on the west side of the island near the Vermillion River Bottom, the kiln overlooks the beautiful Grey Cloud Channel. The land contains agricultural remnants of prairie grasses on top of very hard bedrock of limestone and sandstone. Currently Aggregate Industries leases a small portion of the land for mining of sand and gravel. Long-range plans for this area include a regional park.
Closer to the river, a dry oak savanna, one of Minnesota's rare plant communities, survives along the bluff while providing a majestic view of the pristine bay below. Viewing the river, one can see sensitive floodplain areas and limestone bluffs that dot the countryside. This area contains numerous rare springs and seepage areas.
Crystal Cove Bay features undeveloped offshore islands and quiet backwaters. It provides a haven for migratory birds, waterfowl, and other wildlife dependent on this relatively undisturbed habitat. A bald eagle nesting site is located nearby. Much of the topsoil of Grey Cloud Island contains shallow and fractured limestone left over from the forces of past Ice Ages.
THREAT AND RESPONSE
On Upper Grey Cloud Island, developers have proposed building a residential community on 600 acres of land, including Crystal Cove Bay. Known as River's Edge, the land straddles the border between Grey Cloud Township and the City of St. Paul Park. Up to this time, the community primarily included farmland and residents living in very low-density housing at a maximum of one residential parcel per two and a half acres.
River's Edge would use this land west of County Road 75 westward to the banks of the Mississippi River. The 2,400-unit development would feature life-cycle housing and 80,000 square feet of retail space and a town center. Developers argue that the costs associated with drilling in hard bedrock beneath the topsoil permit only high-density housing.
The development would use the riverfront as a recreational amenity. A proposed boat launch would give residents access to the bay. Hiking paths are planned to connect the neighborhoods with the river bluffs and nearby nesting areas for bald eagles. The site developers contend that building closer to the river gives it a competitive advantage over other developments in nearby communities. As an example, a five-story condominium would sit on land some 40 feet from the river's edge giving residents a view of the river.
Expansion of the existing transportation infrastructure features widening existing roads and building new arterial streets to make room for some 20,000 additional daily trips anticipated with this development. In addition, the city of St. Paul Park plans to build storm water and sanitary sewer lines and hire nine additional police officers to provide service to this area.
County Road 75 forms the edge of the land whose jurisdiction falls under the Mississippi River Critical Corridor. As a result, part of the River's Edge development sits in Grey Cloud Township. The settlement agreement signed by the Township with the developer in the summer of 2003 suspends all annexation litigation with Cottage Grove. Citizens are considering a court challenge to dispute the legality of the settlement agreement.
The River's Edge development endangers many of the unique ecological features found on Grey Cloud Island. This project calls for a dramatic increase in impervious road surfaces. The increase in storm water runoff flowing into the bay would threaten the bay's pristine water quality and with it a drop in water recharging back into the water table. Plans also call for housing near ecologically sensitive areas including an oak savanna, sand prairie and floodplain.
A view of Crystal Cove, a natural area threatened
by the proposed River's Edge development
photo: Courtesy of Friends of the Mississippi River
At issue is the ecological threat River's Edge presents to the land that falls into the jurisdiction of the Mississippi River Critical Areas Act. Passed by the Minnesota State Legislature in 1973, the Act preserves certain areas possessing important historical, cultural, aesthetic, and ecological values, including the Mississippi River and its adjacent corridor.
River's Edge development circumvents the protections provided by the Critical Areas Act by seeking to amend the laws to get permission to build on the land. If the developers succeed, St. Paul Park may rezone the 400 acres into residential and commercial use. In addition, the developers have proposed an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) of the land use. This planning tool does not address environmental impacts associated with a development of this scale and should be used only as a planning tool for a larger geographic area, not an individual project.
The magnitude of River's Edge development and its strategic placement on the river challenge the special protections the Mississippi River Corridor has received through the Mississippi River Critical Area program. The Act protects the Mississippi River and its adjacent corridor. These laws protect the sensitive river corridor area from development that significantly alters or otherwise changes the ecological, aesthetic, and cultural values. Citizens and officials from the Department of Natural Resources concerned about the development state that the development must include a buffer for the Critical River Corridor. Potential threats to the ecological integrity of the river corridor may include destruction of the ecologically pristine bay, seepage, lack of ground water recharge, and harmful storm water discharge into the bay. In addition, development may pose the risk of lost nesting habitat for waterfowl, and air pollution from the estimated 18,000 to 24,000 daily automobile trips in and out of the development.
CURRENT SITUATION
In the fall of 2003, voters in St. Paul Park elected a new mayor and two new city council members who favor a scaled-back version of River's Edge. The Department of Natural Resources must also determine whether to approve amending the area's critical areas plan, potentially opening the way for similar developments along the entire river. The status of the development also remains unclear until issues surrounding annexation are resolved. Annexation will give the City of St. Paul Park the ability to rezone the 400 acres into residential and commercial use.
Lower Grey Cloud Island has provided aggregate mining of sand and gravel and low-density residential housing. Farming has been a mainstay on Upper Grey Cloud Island where River's Edge is proposed.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET INVOLVED
Friends of the Mississippi River
www.fmr.org
Irene Jones
612-222-2193
Friends of the Bay
www.friendsofthebay.com