Tuesday, Oct 2, 2007
When Partnerships Work
Gray skies threatening showers were not enough to keep Friends of Lilydale Park and other trail enthusiasts from the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new trail connection between the existing Lilydale/Harriet Island trail and the Big Rivers Regional Trail. Lilydale/Harriet Island Regional Park is a park within a park - it lies within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a 72-mile corridor of the Mississippi River stretching from Dayton-Ramsey to Hastings - "the Mississippi River's National Park!"
This trail connection results from a partnership between the National Park Service, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation, Dakota County, and Friends of Lilydale Park with critical support from Congresswoman Betty McCollum, State Senator Sandy Pappas, Councilman Dave Thune, and many others. National Park Service support included a $97,000 grant for trail construction.
Friends of Lilydale Park has plans for more trail work, including interpretive signage - a partnership between Friends of Lilydale Park, the National Park Service, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation, and funded by Kodak.
Within the scope of a partnership on a much grander scale, this trail connection will ultimately be a segment of the Mississippi River Trail (MRT), 3000+ miles of trail stretching from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. On September 19 Terry Eastin, Executive Director of Mississippi River Trail, Inc., was presented with the Kodak American Greenways National Award for 2007. This award, presented by Eastman-Kodak, The Conservation Fund and the National Geographic Society, recognizes outstanding individuals or organizations for leadership in fostering a national network of greenways. The MRT was named one of 16 national Millennium Trails in 2000, a testament to the corridor's culture, history, and future. For more information about the Mississippi River Trail, visit http://www.mississippirivertrail.org/.
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