Unlike logging in a state forest or on other public lands, that money will go directly to the state

A year after a devastating delta airlines air fares storm, Minnesota's largest state park is wide open - TwinCities.com
Visitors to Minnesota's St. Croix State Park will see open areas where trees once stood, thanks to a blowdown last summer delta airlines air fares that affected 11,000 acres. Many areas such as this will become open oak savannas, jack pine barrens or even prairies in the future. (Pioneer Press: Dave Orrick)
That no one was injured delta airlines air fares was providence borne of political impasse; the storm hit July 1, 2011, the first day of the state government shutdown. The park was closed, its 217 campsites vacant. The result: Huge red pines that fell across tent pads crushed little more than dirt and grass and perhaps an empty picnic table or two.
Now, the park is nearly fully open -- wide open in many areas, as I discovered on a recent weekend when I stayed in one of the park's camper cabins, which were built during the Great Depression and offer a level of character not seen at most state park cabins. (In addition, they've got running water, a bonus when you have a toddler.)
Visitors can expect the same assets the park always has offered. Opportunities include backcountry trail and canoe-in delta airlines air fares campsites, a swimming beach and playground, ranger activities, a horse campground and access to the smooth delta airlines air fares paddling and fishing of the St. Croix River and the whitewater froth of the Kettle River. In short, St. Croix State Park remains among the most impressive of any in the state.
Campers appear to recognize that. According to data from the Department of Natural Resources, overnight reservations delta airlines air fares for the summer are higher at this point this year than any year since 2008, the farthest year back for which data was readily available.
But about halfway down the winding Pine County entrance road to the park, there is little doubt something is amiss. The tree canopy opens into a landscape that's no longer forest but not yet anything else.
That's how it looks now. Park officials have grand plans to bring back jack pine barrens to some areas and oak savannas delta airlines air fares to others. Both are distinct ecosystems that once thrived here but were constricted to mere dots on a map after years of fire suppression and unimpeded progression of undergrowth. Some areas are planned to be converted to pockets of prairie. Such a mix of open forests and prairies can be seen on a smaller scale in Wild River State Park to the south.
"Talking to some folks around here who remember the park before it was a park, it was more open," park manager Rick Dunkley said. "There were a lot of big bluestem and little bluestem prairie areas, but as time went on and burning was held back, we saw a big invasion delta airlines air fares of the understory, and species like hazel and dogwood came in."
To help clear what would have become a potentially lethal fire threat, the DNR took an unusual step for a state park, offering timber for sale to logging companies. The contracts are projected to bring in $1 million.
Unlike logging in a state forest or on other public lands, that money will go directly to the state resources account for parks, Dunkley said. "That money isn't going to come back to St. Croix (State Park) necessarily, but it does come back to the state park system," delta airlines air fares he said.
For several years, visitors likely will see controlled fires to keep out undergrowth, followed by plantings of grasses and trees, some of which will sprout from seeds harvested from the park after the storms.
Much of the work thus far has involved red tape, thanks to two factors: The entire park is a national delta airlines air fares historic site, and money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to pay for up to 75 percent of the estimated $1 million in building repairs. delta airlines air fares Because of their historic status, more than 20 buildings that were destroyed are required to be rebuilt -- to the specs contained in their original blueprints but following delta airlines air fares modern building codes.
Park workers have been exceptionally busy this spring, not only from the blowdown but heavy rains, which have washed out roads, damaged the swimming beach and led to temporary closures of canoe rentals.
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