Closed army plant sees boaters for the first time in decades

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On a recent Saturday morning, about 20 boaters from Friends of theMississippi River -- a St. Paul nonprofit that works to protect andpreserve the Mississippi and its watershed -- took a maiden voyagethrough the reopened section of the creek and beyond. Bordered byswaying trees on both sides of the river, they maneuvered around afew fallen trees, through some tunnels under bridges, and alongpeaceful stretches of the stream.

They were guided by Todd Murawski, recreation specialist at WargoNature Center, part of the Anoka County Parks system.

"This is where the gates used to be,'' he told the group, asthey drifted into a section of the stream that has not seen acanoeist or kayaker since Franklin Roosevelt was president."Now we're entering the ammunitions plant.''

Trevor Russell, watershed program director at Friends of theMississippi, was in one of the canoes, taking photos of the newlychartered territory.

"Folks have done this creek in bits and pieces, but we're oneof the first groups to do it as a whole,'' he said. "It'sspecial, because it's reconnected a river that was broken up intosegments. Reopening this will have the effect of reconnectingcommunities to one another.''

Those connections will grow deeper in the months and years ahead.This summer, the bridges that cross the creek will be stencilledwith their street names to guide creek explorers, said Mack.Likewise, trees and other obstacles will be removed as the waterrecedes this summer, and some of the access sites will be cleanedup.

Those access sites include the Wargo Nature Center, Long LakeRegional Park, and the parking lots in Shoreview next to the creekat County Rd. I and County Road J., Mack said. Other access sitesare in the works.

"All of this is new,'' Mack said. "What we willultimately have is a map of the creek to help people navigate it, awebsite and improved access to the creek.''

To outdoors enthusiasts such as Hartmann, it's a great recreationalopportunity for the northern suburbs. She said she watched theammunitions site get an environmental clean-up over the years fromthe windows of a nearby day-care center where she works. She wascurious about the body of water running through it.