Star Tribune: A fight over the use of a wildflower zone
Terry Collins, Star Tribune, July 11, 2005 Can they all get along?
»Will the possibility of a multi-trail system near the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden in Wirth Park satisfy nature purists, bikers and skiers?
That was the debate last week in front of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It is considering whether to leave the wooded area around the popular garden -- the oldest public wildflower garden in the country -- in its current state or allow recreational activities such as skating-style ski racing near the designated buffer zone.
Wildflower enthusiasts prefer a narrow route for cross-country skiing near the garden but oppose a wide path that has been used during the annual City of Lakes Loppet ski race.
"There is no compelling reason to place the Loppet trail in the buffer zone," Steven Pundt, president of the Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, told a capacity crowd at the meeting Wednesday night. "There is no compelling reason to cut new trails through these woods."
The skiers believe they are entitled to use a share of the area, which is bound by Glenwood Avenue to the north, Wayzata Boulevard to the south, Theodore Wirth Parkway to the west and Xerxes Avenue to the east.
Currently the area is off-limits to bicyclists, who also want to have their say on where they can ride near the garden.
After listening to more than two dozen people representing the three parties, the board members decided they will meet with the groups before deciding July 20 on what to do about the area near the fenced-in garden.«