National Park Service recommended to manage Coldwater Spring site

I first blogged about Coldwater Spring back in April and several times since then.

Now comes word that the National Park Service (NPS) will likely manage the site as part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.  The public planning process will begin soon with a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) completed by next summer.

Paul Labovitz, NPS Superintendent of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, sent this email to the Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition last week where it’s posted on their website:

OFFICIAL ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
111 Kellogg Boulevard E, Suite 105 Saint Paul, Minnesota 55101

NO HARD COPY WILL FOLLOW

December 3, 2008

Dear friends:

It has been two years since the public comment period ended concerning the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Disposition of the Bureau of Mines Property, Twin Cities Research Center Main Campus in Hennepin County near Fort Snelling, Minnesota. The campus lies entirely within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. The Department of the Interior has selected its preferred alternative for disposition of the property and the purpose of this letter is to inform you of that decision and lay out the next steps for the campus.

The 27-acre property is owned by the U.S. government and would remain in federal ownership under Interior’s preferred alternative. The property will be restored to a condition that emphasizes its ecological and historical significance, with all buildings, driveways, roads and other infrastructure removed.

The National Park Service will lead a public planning process to help determine the exact nature of the site’s restoration, including restoration of Coldwater Spring. This will include completion of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) concerning the property’s future. Once that document is complete, the Department of the Interior will issue its final decision about the future of the property. Based on information obtained in completing the FEIS, that decision could be somewhat different than the preferred alternative

Public meetings will be conducted in the winter and spring of 2009 to help determine some of the details for restoration of the site. The FEIS will be completed by summer 2009. Assuming the final decision is no different than the preferred alternative, demolition of the buildings and physical restoration of the site may begin as soon as fall 2009 and will likely be completed by the end of the 2010 construction season. At that time, the National Park Service will assume responsibility for the site. An interpretive plan for the site will be completed in late 2009 or early 2010.

Once the planning tasks are completed, the National Park Service will work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on managing the contracts for demolition of the buildings and restoration of the site. Once the site has been restored, long-term management of the property will be the responsibility of the National Park Service.

This site holds great significance for American Indian people, for its role in early European settlement of the region, and for its 20th Century role in development of mining and mine safety technology. I am excited that this site will be preserved and managed by the National Park Service and we will be able to tell the many stories of this site to present and future generations of Americans.

Questions about the next steps in the planning process should be directed to Steve Johnson of my staff at 651-290-3030 x223 or steven_p_johnson@nps.gov.

Sincerely,

/s/ Paul Labovitz

Paul Labovitz Superintendent

See the media coverage:

• StarTribune: Coldwater Spring to become parkland
• Pioneer Press: National Park Service to restore land near Fort Snelling Land near Fort Snelling includes spring
• MPR: National Park Service to restore land near Ft. Snelling

and the NPS press release (PDF – full text below):

National Park Service to manage Coldwater Spring site

Abandoned federal property along the Mississippi River near Fort Snelling should be managed by the National Park Service as part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, federal officials have announced.

Paul Labovitz, NPS Superintendent for the Mississippi River, said the property would be cleared of its abandoned buildings and restored to natural conditions. This includes restoration of Coldwater Spring, a significant site in American history that is located on the property.

“This site holds great significance for American Indian people, for its role in early European settlement of the region, and for its 20th Century role in development of mining and mine safety technology. I am excited that this site will be preserved and managed by the National Park Service and we will be able to tell the many stories of this site to present and future generations of Americans,” Labovitz said.

The property is adjacent to Highway 55 and lies just south of Minnehaha Falls Regional Park and just west of the Mississippi River. For decades it was a research campus of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, a federal agency closed by the government in the mid-1990s.

The 27-acre site is within the Fort Snelling National Historic Landmark and Coldwater Spring on the site was the primary water supply for the soldiers that build the fort in the early 19th Century and for the subsequent expanded fort itself well into the 20th Century.

The National Park Service began a planning process in 2004 to determine the future of the site, but that process went dormant following publication of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in 2006. The Department of the Interior, which owns the site, concluded last week that future management of the site should fall to the National Park Service.

Interior’s action was formally to select site restoration and NPS management as its “preferred alternative” as preparation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) goes forward.

Interior’s decision could technically change following publication of the Final EIS and won’t be final until publication of a Record of Decision next year, but Labovitz said Interior has clearly set the direction for the property’s future. E X P E RI EN C E YOU R AMER I CA T M The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.

“That decision is logical,” said Superintendent Labovitz, “since the site lies within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and since the National Park Service is exceptionally qualified to interpret the rich history of this site.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been responsible for day-to-day management of the site since the Bureau of Mines closed and will manage contracts to demolish the buildings and restore the site to natural conditions. Site restoration should be completed by the fall of 2010, Labovitz said.