Today's date: September 3, 2010
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| Casey Jones Open House at Currie |
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November 19, 2003 |
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| The Casey Jones State Trail was the first state trail originally authorized in the late 1960's by the Legislature. | |
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An open house to discuss future development and management of the Casey Jones State Trail will be held Tuesday, December 2, in Currie at the Community Center from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. This informal meeting sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources and the Friends of the Casey Jones State Trail is a repeat of the two open houses held on November 5, in Lake Wilson and Pipestone. These open houses are designed to provide interested citizens with information and the give them the opportunity to provide input regarding the development of the trail. They deal with the entire trail currently authorized by the Minnesota Legislature. The Casey Jones State Trail was the first state trail originally authorized in the late 1960's by the Legislature. It was designated to run from Lake Shetek State Park southwest to Slayton and then west to Pipestone. In 2002, the Legislature authorized extensions of the trail from Lake Shetek State Park northwest to Walnut Grove and from Pipestone south to Split Rock Creek State Park. The asphalt, six mile loop trail from Currie to Lake Shetek State Park, was also included in the state authorization as part of the Casey Jones State Trail. Although the November 5 open house did draw people from the eastern area of the trail, a repeat session is being held in Currie to make it more convenient for people from the eastern area to participate. Various stations will be set up covering a wide area of topics, including trail amenities, the State Trail System, major attractions along the trail, trail alignment, and many more topics. The stations will be the same as the November 5 meetings, so anyone that missed attending at that time will have another opportunity to be involved. The input received at the open houses will also be used as work continues on a master plan for the Casey Jones Trail. The Minnesota Outdoor Recreation Act requires that a master plan for the development of any state trail be prepared and approved by the Commissioner of DNR before any development can occur. The final development of the master plan is under the direction of Laurie Young, DNR, Trail Planning Supervisor. Judith Otto, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, has been working for the Friends of the Casey Jones Trail (FCJT) on the master plan under the Community Assistance Program. The FCJT has also been working with Holly Larson, National Park Service, Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program. Laurie Young, Judith Otto, and Holly Larson along with other DNR staff and FCJT volunteers will be in charge of the different stations. "The main purpose of these open house meetings is to give local citizens an opportunity to learn and to participate in the planning and development of the Casey Jones Trail", said Bob Klingle, FCJT. "This is the only Legislative authorized state trail south of the Minnesota River and west of Albert Lea and when fully developed will be a great asset to all of southwest Minnesota", Klingle continued. If you have any questions or comments or if you are unable to attend the meeting and would like to talk about future plans for the trail, contact Laurie Young, DNR, Trail Planning Supervisor at (651) 296-6690, Mike Salmon, DNR Area Trails and Waterways Supervisor at (507) 831- 2900 ext. 225 or Bob Klingle, Friends of the Casey Jones Trail at (507) 836-6148 ext. 115. |
©Murray County News 2010