Pike/Eagle Lakes Open Space
STATUS: LOST
Map to Pike/Eagle Lakes
Pike/Eagle Lakes Open Space is located in Plymouth and Maple Grove, Twin Cities northwestern suburbs.
HOW TO GET THERE
Go to Bass Lake Road and Zachary Lane in Plymouth. Leave your car at the small pull-out on the north side of Bass Lake Road, or, if construction has eliminated it, park on the side streets off of Zachary Lane to the south. Former natural green space lies north of Bass Lake Road.
WHAT YOU CAN DO AT PIKE/EAGLE LAKES OPEN SPACE
Take a look at the 9-hole golf course on 160 acres of a 230-acre regional park. Imagine what it was like to ski or walk your dog through an undeveloped green space. Eventually, there will be a picnic area among some of the remaining trees, and a walkway around the golf course.
A new golf course covers two-thirds of the area
DESCRIPTION
The land affected by this development was a farm until it was given to the Hennepin Regional Park District as a park over twenty years ago. It surrounds approximately 80 percent of Pike Lake and part of Eagle Lake and contained old farm fields reverting to brush and woods, as well as considerable woodlot areas with larger trees, including many oak. While the natural landscape was not in its pre-settlement condition, it nonetheless offered adequate habitat for many species of birds and animals. Foxes and owls were among the creatures sighted by local residents who long enjoyed this piece of undeveloped land.
THREAT AND RESPONSE
Pike/Eagle Lakes Open Space is now lost as a large, contiguous parcel of natural green space. Once a potential addition to the proposed greenway system for the core cities and suburbs, its loss is truly sad, but the story of its loss is instructive. The project was the brainchild of the Hennepin Regional Park District whose commissioners wanted to see more revenue generated from parks, and viewed a golf course as a way of getting it. The closed-door planning process was marred by secrecy. Once aware, citizens were then given few opportunities to comment. A group did form, however, and sponsored protests, walks in the natural area, and letter-writing campaigns. Citizens also attended meetings, and pointed out that there were already ten golf courses within ten miles of the new course. Indeed, because of the proximity of the New Hope municipal golf course (about two miles away), possible decreases in revenue at that course were discussed, and many believed that a financial deal was cut with New Hope to compensate for eventual losses.
Protests, logic, and pleas in favor of more green space proved too little too late. The commissioners voted unanimously for the golf course. The project also passed the Plymouth City Council, which, according to one council member, had little choice but to approve it as it was in line with city ordinances. Said one dismayed citizen, "It was a done deal."
The story of the loss of Pike/Eagle Lakes Open Space cannot come to an end without our asking why: Where did the system fail us? Of all people, we might ask, shouldn't Park District commissioners understand the special value of a natural parcel in the midst of a sea of development? Arent they aware of the extreme reduction of wildlife habitat in the metro area? Do they really think that a golf course qualifies?
A cynic's answer to why may lie in the rumor that some park commissioners like to play golf. Another reason is revenue: golf courses bring in more money than natural areas. In the push toward increasing revenue, the district commissioners are only following the golden rule laid down at every level of government. From the state on down, the mantra is to cut costs and make public amenities pay their way. Digging further, we need to look at the voting public who, after all, elected the majority of the commissioners. Then there is the layering of different agencies and units of government where no effective watchdog authority exists. The Park District is funded independently from the county, and, although two of the Park District commissioners are appointed by the Hennepin County board, the latter exercises little oversight.
A clear-cut failure of oversight appears at the level of the Metropolitan Council. The Park District is required to submit a comprehensive plan to the council. It did so, and this agency, which professes an interest in maintaining metro area livability and which identifies preserving the natural environment as one of its seven critical policy directions, approved the plan, including the conversion of natural open space into a golf course. The golf course opened in July 2004.