Red Lake River Corridor
The goal of the Red Lake River Corridor Enhancement (RLRCE) project is to protect and restore the Red Lake River’s natural corridor to enhance water quality, fish and wildlife habitat that will provide for educational, recreational and economic opportunities. The specific goal resulting from this funding request is to produce planning and design documents for boat access points, city and county parkland and trails, and a geographic information system focusing on a 4 mile wide corridor from East Grand Forks to Lower Red Lake. The GIS work will provide land use history and predictions of future land use changes at 10 and 20 year intervals.
The communities along the Red Lake River, the University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC), the College of Natural Resources (CNR), the Environmental Resources Spatial Analysis Center (ERSAC), and the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (CALA) will partner on this two-year project. Community representatives, meeting for 18 months, have established an organizational structure and have agreed on their long-term goals. This proposal funds a planning phase that addresses the system and specific sites selected by a partnership of citizens and a design team. Specifically, staff at UMC will be involved in communication and coordination between planning and design leaders (CALA), spatial data analysts (CNR and ERSAC) and community members to insure that the said deliverables meet community needs and expectations.
The tangible product is a planning design document including designs for 8-10 sites along the Red Lake River Corridor that address site issues and larger community system issues like connections to local amenities such as historic sites, natural features, boating access on the river, and local trails. The site designs will be produced in a graphic format that will be understandable and useful to the trail committee and the communities impacted. They will provide site-specific cost estimates and can be used as a tool for funding the development of the waterway trail and other future sustainable projects in the area. The designs will address a variety of issues and will be useful to the trail committee, tourism organizations, planners and natural resource managers, and individual communities. The GIS database will be a deliverable good to communities along the river that will aid in urban and rural development and planning and natural resource management with the intent that future development be carried out in an environmentally sensitive manner that provides for regional sustainability.
This project uses a tangible goal, improvement to river access, river parks, and water quality along the Red Lake River, as a tool to achieve the intangible results of community, regional consciousness and appreciation of ecological resources. Environmental benefits, enhanced community livability, and economic opportunities are projected outcomes of the project.
Working with the RLRCE Council, local officials, and other interested citizens, a project team from the CALA, the CNR, UMC, and ERSAC, will study the areas identified by the Red Lake River Corridor communities in order to develop alternative design scenarios for selected sites along the trail. The team will analyze the area’s natural systems, existing natural and cultural amenities, development patterns, and land uses. This project builds on work already underway by communities along the trail and other citizen groups. Emphasis will be on the on the trail's physical form. The goal of the study is to empower the RLRCE Council and Red Lake River communities by creating useful materials that will help inform community decision makers of the impact that future trail development will have on communities and natural systems in the area.
CALA team members will use GIS data, along with input and guidance from the community leaders, to create alternative design scenarios for the trail and its communities. The team will meet in person with representatives from each community at least 3 times during the planning process.
Citizens and community leaders are the driving force in recognizing the need for enhancing the river corridor, both the terms of natural resource management and recreational use. The RLRCE council is a collection of community leaders (i.e., at least one representative from each city and county). This planning phase will provide a foundation for the implementation phase to follow.
Red Lake River Corridor
