The landmark Swinging Bridge in Jay Cooke State Park was severely damaged when the St. Louis River reached record flood levels in June and will need to be rebuilt. The park, located south of Duluth, remains closed indefinitely. (Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)
It has been a bad year for Minnesota's state parks, at least in terms of headaches.
First, a much-ballyhooed reservation system crashed within hours of launching and stayed down for weeks, annoying many park lovers, including me.
Then, record storms wrecked portions of a number of parks and trails, forcing the indefinite closure of popular Jay Cooke State Park, south of Duluth, followed by storms that blew down old-growth trees in treasured Itasca State Park, to name a few of Mother Nature's impacts.
Yet, 2012 is shaping up to be one of the best years for state parks, at least in terms of camping popularity.
Despite the closure of Jay Cooke, overnight stays (mainly camping) at Minnesota state parks are ahead of mid-July figures from the past four years, according to data from the state Department of Natural Resources. As of July 15, state parks logged 127,679 "occupied site nights," up from 110,879 this time in 2008 (only data from 2008-12 was readily available).
Toss out your own theories as to why: the early spring, the maybe-better economy or the fact that we just love our state parks, and sleeping in one is usually more fun than sleeping at home.
"It's very encouraging, that's for sure," said Amy Barrett, spokeswoman for the DNR's Division of Parks and Trails. "We keep bouncing back."
Barrett was referring to last year, as well, when the state government shutdown closed all state parks for the first three weeks of July 1 and a massive blowdown
in St. Croix State Park left that popular destination shuttered for most of the year."I don't know that I have historical data to back this up, but it seems like more damage is hitting the parks a little bit harder these days," said Stan Linnell, strategic manager for parks and trails.
All that damage has added up to a laundry list of needed repairs, and a price tag.
JAY COOKE CLOSED INDEFINITELY
When June 18-20 rains pounded Northeastern Minnesota, landslides and an engorged St. Louis River damaged Jay Cooke, as well as Minnesota 210, a key artery for the area and the only way to get to the park, which lies east of Carlton.
The highway remains closed. As a result, the park is closed "indefinitely." The Minnesota Department of Transportation is hoping to reopen enough of the road by October to provide park access. A cost estimate is expected later this month.
Even if the road were opened today, much of the park has been damaged, to the tune of about $1.5 million.
And a good portion would be inaccessible because the historic Swinging Bridge over the St. Louis River was partially washed away in dramatic fashion.
The initial estimate for replacing the bridge was $900,000, but when the firm likely to do the
Jeff Fuller and his son Blake, 6, crossed a footbridge in Afton State Park after an overnight bacpacking trip. (Pioneer Press file photo: Dave Orrick)
work inspected the area, the estimate jumped to $1.5 million, not including design and inspection fees, which could be a few hundred thousand dollars more, Linnell said.The suspension bridge originally was built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As a result, rebuilding it comes with many restrictions. The DNR and Minnesota Historical Society have dug out the original plans and are in the process of figuring out, for example, where the stone was quarried for the signature stone pillars -- because they'll have to replace damaged stones with stone quarried from the same place.
Someone scrawled on those original blueprints, in pencil: "retain for anchorage and pier information."
Dave Redford, an archeologist with the Historical Society working on the project, observed, "That's come in handy over the years." The original bridge was destroyed in a flood of 1950, and rebuilt. This will be the second rebuilding.
MUNGER TRAIL FACES LONG RESTORATION
The most expensive item isn't the bridge, but the Willard Munger State Trail, a paved multi-use trail that runs through the park. In all, about 14 miles of the trail between Thomson and West Duluth remains closed.
Some of the trail has be repaired and declared an emergency route for ambulances in the absence of Minnesota 210.
Linnell said it's possible the Munger trail might open to snowmobiling this winter through a series of "temporary fixes," but the full repairs needed to accommodate road bicycles and in-line skates are more involved. The 63-mile Hinckley-to-Duluth segment is popular with cyclists, who often stretch the trip over more than a day.
"It's hard to predict how long permanent repairs will take," Linnell said. "It will be closed at least all of next year and maybe beyond."
Total cost for trail repairs: about $9 million. But Linnell says another $5 million might be needed "to do it right" and avoid frequent maintenance.
Several hundred thousand dollars of flood damage also has been estimated along the North Shore, including the C.J. Ramstad/North Shore State Trail.
During a special session of the legislature that Gov. Mark Dayton said he expects to call this summer, the DNR plans to ask lawmakers for the money to make some or all of these repairs. No request has been finalized, but it appears certain to top $10 million.
So it's a good thing we love our parks. Because we're paying for them.
Dave Orrick can be reached at dorrick@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5512. Follow him at twitter.com/OutdoorsNow.
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