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[Duluth, MN] - The City of Duluth Parks and Recreation and Hartley Nature Center are pleased to announce the award of a $600,000 Legacy Amendment grant through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

 

Hartley Nature Center staff, representatives of the Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shore (COGGS), the McCabe Chapter of the Izaak Walton League, and Wheels on Trails joined Mayor Don Ness and other city officials for the announcement of the grant today which will focus on ecological restoration and recreational enhancements within Hartley Park.

 

Hartley Park is a City of Duluth park that is managed in close partnership with Hartley Nature Center, an independent nonprofit which offers extensive environmental education programs from its educational facility in the park.

 

“The staff and board of Hartley Nature Center are thrilled by this Legacy grant award,” said Tom O’Rourke, Executive Director of the nonprofit Nature Center. “These projects will significantly improve park access and the park’s ecological health, and will help Hartley Nature Center deliver its mission of inspiring lifelong connections with nature through education, play and exploration.”

 

The grant will help implement several park improvements identified through an extensive public planning process culminating in the Hartley Park Mini-Master Plan (MMP). Funded improvements include: 

 

·       Improving the Old Hartley Road Trail to be more environmentally sustainable and accessible,

·       Stewardship of the pine plantation including thinning to increase stand health,

·       Improved accessibility of popular trails between the Nature Center and Hartley Pond,

·       Completion of the multi-use Duluth Traverse trail within the park,

·       Improved, expanded, and more environmentally sustainable parking,

·       Construction of a Nature Playscape at Hartley Nature Center,

·       Expanded and improved interpretation of the park’s cultural and natural history,

·       Removal of invasive buckthorn and planting of native plants, and

·       Improvements to existing cross country ski trails.

 

The grant will be supplemented with more than $200,000 in matching funds from the City of Duluth Parks Fund, private foundations, and individual donors.  

 

“This grant represents a triumph of strong partnerships and a balanced approach to park protection and recreational use. We thank the public for their passionate involvement and input that has resulted in a solid plan to meet the needs of all those who use and love Hartley Park. The results of the community’s commitment and hard work are exemplified in this significant award,” said Jim Filby-Williams, Director of Public Administration.

 

 

Some park improvements have commenced but the bulk of the work is slated to begin in spring 2015. The grant funded projects are expected to take about two years to complete.

 

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