As part of Dakota County’s “City-County Conservation Collaborative” Program Burnsville has been awarded grants from restoration efforts. Work Begins at Alimagnet Park by removing common buckthorn and weedy tree species on a 12-acre area.
The City has been selected to participate in Dakota County’s “City-County Conservation Collaborative” Program. This new program supports municipalities with habitat restoration work in local parks. For Alimagnet Park, it means up to $260,000 in funding will be available to the City through County cost share and state grants over 5 years and will be used to enhance existing restoration areas, as well as expand those improvements to new areas of the park.
This work will kick off by removing common buckthorn and weedy tree species on a 12-acre area in the southwest corner of the park. This work was initially planned for winter of 2023-2024 but had to be delayed due to lack of adequate frost depth to support heavy equipment operation. The work is now planned for winter of 2024-2025. Additional restoration steps will include follow-up invasive species control, controlled burns and seeding of native plants.
The work will help improve the health of the existing canopy, like the many oak trees within the park, and create better conditions for natural oak regeneration. It will also help control invasive plant species, replacing them with other types of native plants, such as native wildflowers, which are more beneficial for pollinators and other wildlife.
